Kidnapping incident will not affect tourism in Sandakan - Tourism association

Fourteen tour operators under the Sandakan Tourism Association (STAN) have vowed to stay as one body and work hard to make sure their businesses remain unaffected by the incident.

STAN president Johnny Lim said the incident undoubtedly had an impact on tourism activities in the east coast of Sabah.

"Now is not the time to play the blame game, but we must remain united and work hard to ensure that the tourism industry will sustain in fending off challenges following the kidnapping incident.

"We don't want (the kidnappers) to rejoice, thinking that we are reducing our tourism activities out of fear," he told Bernama here Saturday.

Lim said tourists were still confident with the level of security in the area and to date, no cancellation had been made by any local or foreign tourist.

He said STAN was committed to boosting the tourism industry in the district, such as organising the 'Colorful Sandakan' programme next month, in conjunction with the Sandakan Festival celebration.

Meanwhile, the Kinabatangan-Corridor of Life Tourism Operators Association (KiTA) urged the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) to review its strategies and not let the incident discourage them.

KiTA president Alexander Yee described the incident as a temporary setback.