Sabah receives RM20m in tourism tax revenue, says minister

KUCHING, Sept 6 — Sabah received more than RM20 million in tourism tax revenue from the federal government for 2019, the highest among all the states, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said today.

She said that the amount is 50 per cent of the amount collected by the federal government, adding that the payments had been made to all state governments including Sarawak which received more than RM5 million.

“The ministry has allocated RM100 million for various tourism projects in Sarawak for this year, besides approving allocations for other states in efforts to boost domestic tourism which has been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,” she told reporters at the Lan Berambeh programme at Kampung Batu Kitang near here.

She said that more allocations would be requested from the federal government under the next rolling plan for the nationwide domestic tourism recovery programmes.

“In Sarawak there are plenty of tourism products yet to be explored and capitalised on,” she said, adding that tourism products and activities could contribute towards uplifting the economy of the people.

Meanwhile, at the event, Batu Kitang assemblyman Lo Khere Chiang submitted the development plan for the Batu Kitang riverbank to Nancy for her ministry’s consideration and approval.

Lo said the project requires an estimated allocation of RM30 million and is expected to take about three years to complete.

“The project will not only beautify the riverbanks in five nearby villages but also turn them into a tourist attraction as there will be various water sports activities held there,” he told Bernama.

While commending the initiative taken by Lo, Nancy in her speech during the event said the ministry would carry an in-depth study on the proposal and give additional input for the plan to revive water taxi services as another tourist attraction in the area. — Bernama