Paragliding Can Become Tourism Product Of Malaysia's Sabah

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia), April 17 (Bernama) – Tourism Malaysia believes that paragliding can be promoted as a tourism product in east Malaysian state Sabah, especially in attracting foreign tourists who love the extreme sport. However, for Sabah to become a destination for extreme sport, there is a need to upgrade the existing infrastructure and facilities. “Insurance coverage must be established because the sport has risks. So far, no party is willing to insure those who are involved in this sport," said Tourism Malaysia Office Sabah in a statement on Sunday. Tourism officials acknowledged that extreme sport has a bright future in the tourism sector and can also produce local athletes who can to bring glory to the nation at international level. This follows the success of paraglider Mohammed Irfan Esmadol from Sabah who set a new record in XCamp 2017 in Khao Sadao, Thailand recently. Mohammed Irfan broke the national record in solo flying of 170 km on April 11, thus breaking the old record of 120 km. He also broke the Asian record in tandem flying of 80 km with a new record of 106 km flying for six hours from the take-off point at Khao Sadao and ended at Chaiyaphum, Thailand. --BERNAMA