KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Government's third edition of Bantuan Sabah Prihatin (BSP) 3.0 showed the state's emphaty with tour operators who generated nil income in the last 15 months.
The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Sabah Chapter chairman Lawrence Chin said earlier the state government had also assisted the tourism industry with the BSP 1.0 and BSP 2.0.
"The cash incentive will be a morale booster for travel and tour operators to remain resilient in these trying times," said Chin in referring to the BSP 3.0 totalling RM154,835,981 announced by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor yesterday.
Chin also urged the Sabah government to fast track the vaccination programme for Sabah tourism workers and frontliners in the tourism industry.
By doing so, he said it would help pave the way to a quicker reopening of borders for both domestic and international markets.
In terms of the vaccine registration rate, he said up to June 4, Sabah was the lowest in the entire country at 19.67 per cent.
Meanwhile, the national MATTA president Datuk Tan Kok Liang, said the Sabah government's continuous aid to tour operators is highly appreciated.
He added that it would be good for the federal tourism ministry and other states to emulate this, taking into consideration the current travel restrictions for both domestic and international.
"MATTA together with other stakeholders are scheduled to meet the Chief Minister of Sabah soon. Public-private sector engagements are needed to craft a better and more aggressive strategy to revitalise the tourism industry which is a key pillar of the Sabah economy," Tan said.