KOTA KINABALU: The alleys of Gaya Street - once bustling with tourists from China and South Korea - are now quiet and empty, except for some locals and a few Western tourists.
The popular spot known for ‘old-school’ row of shops with restaurants and souvenir shops, is among the businesses impacted by Covid-19 outbreak, which saw the Sabah government restricting new entries of Chinese and South Korean visitors.
The lack of tourists from the two Asian markets - who were major income generators for the state’s tourism - saw shops slashing prices by 20% to 30%, with some restaurants doing the same, in a bid to attract domestic patrons. “I can safely say we lost more than 80% of our buyers with the ban of entries of China and South Korea tourists, ” said a lady who runs a souvenir shop there, adding that Western tourists do not have the same spending habits as the Asian tourists.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and will continue to take precautionary measures to safeguard our guests and colleagues, ” said the spokesperson.
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