Sabah eyes Davao as potential market

The state of Sabah in Malaysia is looking at Davao City as a potential market for its growing tourism industry as it also taking advantage of the benefits brought about by the sub-economic region -- the Brunei Darrusalam, Indonesia, Malaysia-Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-Eaga). Officials of the Sabah Tourism Board visited Davao City over the weekend to conduct a market study before they will recommend the opening of a direct flight from Davao City to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah. "Davao City is a potential market, that's why we are here to conduct a market study. One consideration that we look into is the opening of a direct flight from Davao City to Kota Kinabalu and vice versa," Gordon C. Yapp, deputy general manager of Sabah Tourism Board, told reporters in a press briefing Saturday. At present, he said, there are only two flights that service the Sabah route from the Philippines -- one is a direct flight from Clark Freeport in Pampanga and the other from Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. Both airlines offer direct flights to Kota Kinabalu and vice versa. Yapp said another Filipino-owned airline SeaAir will soon open the same route from Clark Freeport. "After the conduct of our market study in Davao City, we will assess if it’s possible to open a direct flight from Davao City," he said. He said Mindanao travelers to Sabah, particularly Kota Kinabalu, usually took a boat from Zamboanga City to ferry them to the Malaysian state. Sabah's other key cities are Sandakan and Tawaw, the gateway to Sabah's top diving spot, the Sipadan Island. Allen Chia, senior research manager of the tourism board, said some 51,000 Filipinos visited Sabah last year, ranking fifth among Asian visitors topped by China/HongKong, South Korea, India and Japan. "We also have visitors from United Kingdom and other European countries," Chia said. The Sabah Malaysian Borneo or Sabah has a population of 3.4 million, 610,000 of whom are foreigners. The state is one of Malaysia's finest adventure and nature destinations famous for its wildlife and tropical beaches. It is also known as a paradise for scuba diving and snorkeling.