Published: Sunday February 22, 2009 MYT 1:11:00 PM
Sandakan death march pulling Aussies to Sabah
MELBOURNE: Sabah is attracting an increasing number of Australian tourists, many wanting to cover the seven-day trek along the treacherous route taken by World War II prisoners of war in the infamous Sandakan death march.
"Our postwar heritage listing has drawn thousands of visitors from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom who have historical links with Sabah," Sabah Tourism Board marketing manager Noredah Othman said in Melbourne.
Over 1,000 Australian and British PoWs were forced to march across 260km of difficult terrain and dense tropical jungle from the Sandakan prison camp to Ranau between January and March 1945.
Only six Australian PoWs survived.
"Sabah had 26,071 tourist arrivals from Australia last year, an increase of 25 per cent from 2007 when 20,859 people visited us," she said.
There were also arrivals from Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Ireland and from mainland Peninsular Malaysia.
"Although we enjoyed good results, we have to work harder to push our destination. We cannot sit on our laurels," Noredah said.
"We are focusing on special interest groups because we have firstclass facilities and attractions, some very unique to the world."
Sabah had the largest Malaysian contingent at the twoday AsiaPacific Incentives and Meeting Expo (AIME) here last week, and Noredah said she was pleased with the many inquiries.
Noredah lamented the lack of direct flights between Australian cities and Kota Kinabalu.
"We desperately want an airline any airline to start an AustraliaSabah service. Our tourist arrivals will swell significantly if this is available," she said. - Bernama
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