As Sabah rides the tourist boom, the no-frills, no hassle Airbnb is becoming the preferred choice for Foreign Independent Tour (FIT) travellers looking to enjoy Sabah on their own terms.

"FIT travellers don't go through tour agents, buy flight tickets online, book their own accommodation; they don't have a fixed schedule and decide where they want to go" said Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun, noting the trend is rapidly catching on with the state's biggest tourist market - China.

"Surprisingly, nowadays at least 59.6 per cent of Chinese tourists arriving at Sabah are FIT travellers" Masidi said. With this, he said Airbnb is flourishing in the state and a lot of owners are converting their apartment or flat to offer as Airbnb for tourists.

Speaking to reporters after officiating the Ministry's seminar on Enforcement issues in the state's tourism industry yesterday, he said the rise of Airbnb deserves to be noticed by tourism industry players so they can reinvent themselves to continue doing well.

Key stakeholders of the state Airbnb will be meeting Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai during the event to push for regulation and licensing of Airbnb providers. Airbnb is an online marketplace and hospitality service, enabling people to lease or rent short-term lodging including vacation rentals, apartment rentals, homestays, hostel beds, or hotel rooms.

Meanwhile, Masidi said the state's tourism sector is shining brightly for the first seven months with 10 per cent of tourists arriving at Sabah. He noted the state recorded 14.5 per cent increase in Chinese arrivals while South Korean tourists peaked 50.8 per cent, followed by 15.2 per cent rise in Taiwanese tourists.

"The good news is for the state tourism industry is Singaporean tourists have seen a rare increase of 8.2 per cent in arrivals" he said.

Amid growing number of tourist arrivals, Masidi said the state is still facing a shortage of rooms to cope with the numbers.