LAHAD DATU, Malaysia -- With hundreds of kilometers of beaches and tropical islands, and a forested interior teeming with wildlife such as orangutans, sun bears and pygmy elephants, the state of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo is a tourism hot spot.
In 2018, Sabah's tourism revenue was the highest of any Malaysian state at 8.3 billion ringgit ($2 billion) with a record 3.9 million arrivals, including half a million Chinese. The state welcomed 1.03 million visitors in the first quarter of 2019 -- up 9% on the same period last year, according to the Sabah Tourism Board (STB).
