The Malaysian city of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah is becoming more popular among Bruneian holidaymakers, featuring in their second school term holiday plans which kicked off on Monday.
Retiree Haji Mohamed said many of the three star hotels have been fully booked, especially those near Imago Shopping Mall.
As such, his own travel plans will only take place after the school holiday.
Rahim, a father of three, shared similar views, noting that only the more expensive hotels were still available.
The relatively short four-hour journey by car, a favourable currency exchange rate and shopping attractions make Malaysian destinations popular among Bruneians.
Statistics from Sabah Tourism showed some 75,300 visitors from Brunei Darussalam visited Sabah between January to May, a notable figure compared to last year which totalled 76,664 visitors for the whole period.
April saw the highest with 22,654 visitors from the Sultanate, followed by February with 14,713.
Visitors from the Sultanate were the second highest number of travellers to Sabah, after South Korean visitors (82,569).
Meanwhile according to Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, there have been some 753,755 Bruneian visitors to Sarawak from January to July.
April saw the highest number of Bruneian visitors to Sarawak with 133,221 followed by 120,918 in June and 104,653 in January. – Azlan Othman
