Sabah Draws Nature-Loving Germans, Says Envoy

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia) Nov 19 (Bernama) -- Sabah’s eco-tourism industry could appeal to nature-loving Germans to visit and invest in the state, said German Ambassador to Malaysia Nikolaus Count Lambsdorff Monday. He said tourism would be an obvious choice of investment for Germans in Sabah as the state offers the kind of nature Germans are looking for, particularly rainforests. “You can find warm waters and beaches and palm trees all over the world. But you can only find (the kind of) rainforest that only Sabah can offer. “There’s hardly any competitor in the world. Germans like this kind of nature,” he said when met by reporters after making a courtesy call on Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal here. Admitting that German tourists to Sabah have yet to grow in number, Count Lambsdorff said most Germans travel to New Zealand to experience the kind of nature that Sabah has. He said he was promoting Sabah to German tourists and with direct flight connectivity between Frankfurt and Kuala Lumpur five times weekly, that could also help to attract Germans to Sabah. “I believe Sabah is making efforts to not only develop its tourism industry, but also to have a look at how people can travel here. “The airport (Kota Kinabalu International Airport) is growing and maybe we can see that we can have direct (flight) connections (in the future),” he said. Count Lambsdorff also said a German tourism company would be operating in Malaysia soon and hoped the company would look into bringing German tourists to visit Sabah as well. -- BERNAMA