Sabah’s travel industry is yearning for the return of Chinese visitors who brought a tourism boom to the state before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Their return is still beyond the hoizon, with only visitors from neighbouring Singapore and Indonesia providing some relief.

Traverse Tours sales director Valentine Willard said the return of Chinese tourists would be akin to “hitting the jackpot” since they were “big spenders”.

The state was highly dependent on Chinese tourists, who made up almost half the visitor arrivals between 2017 and 2019. According to the Sabah Tourism Board, 43.4% – or nearly 600,000 arrivals – were from China during the period, but as of June this year, this has plunged to only 6.3%.

Willard said his agency was feeling the pinch of China’s “zero Covid” policy, which had restricted travel to and from that country.

“We are unable to operate at full capacity as the market is still very slow. Now, we have to focus more on our domestic tourists and other markets like Singapore and Indonesia to survive,” he told FMT Business.

The two neighbours have accounted for most of the state’s tourist arrivals at 36.6% and 14.2%, respectively, this year.

Willard said that over the last two years, his agency had to seek alternative sources of revenue, including selling food and beverages, and operating a parcel delivery service.

“We had to diversify but now, Sabah’s tourism sector is recovering,” he said, adding that local tourism bodies had also been helpful in promoting the state and its products.

He also suggested that incentives be offered to draw domestic tourists to visit local destinations to help strengthen the market.

Meanwhile, Sabah Tourist Association chairman Tony Chew said the domestic market had managed to temporarily fill the gap caused by the drop in Chinese tourists.

He said the Sabah Tourism Board and Tourism Malaysia had stepped up their efforts to promote the state’s attractions.

“Community-based tourism (CoBT) has also recently been launched to attract visitors to experience local culture,” he said.

Under the programme, local communities are encouraged to set up small businesses to cater to such visitors.