ITB Berlin News #3

Datuk Abdul Karim
Rahman Hamzah
Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture,
Youth and Sports, Sarawak
WE ARE SATISFIED
WITH THE POSITIVE
GROWTH OF VISITORS
TO SARAWAK LAST YEAR,
RECEIVING 231,498
MORE VISITOR
ARRIVALS COMPARED
TO 2018
Vision
Reinvigorating
tourism in Sarawak
Puan Sharzede Datu
Hj Salleh Askor
CEO – Sarawak Tourism Board
2020 is an encouraging year
for Sarawak Tourism Board
as we wet the Visit Sarawak
Campaign Phase Two into
action. We are satisfied with
the positive growth of visitors
to Sarawak last year, receiving
231,498 more visitor arrivals
compared to 2018 (2018:
4,430,921 & 2019: 4,662,419)
- a growth rate of +5.22%.
As part of this, we achieved
a significant rise in visitor
arrivals from the domestic
market, with a growth rate of
+11.3%. The Sarawak Tourism
Board is working on improving
our existing strategies and
plans. Having set the target
of five million visitor arrivals to
Sarawak, we are confident that
with the intensive marketing
and promotional campaigns
of Sarawak Tourism Board in
domestic markets and the
ASEAN region, this should be
achievable. We are working
on building collaboration with
airlines, enhancing our digital
platforms, and continuing
aggressive promotion and
marketing campaigns in all
our focus markets.
We are also seeking to grow the
long-haul market in addition
to the ASEAN market and
“border” tourism. As we know,
visitors from Europe, the USA,
and more locally, Australasia,
love our adventure offering,
our nature and culture, trying
the exotic food and having fun
at our festivals. One of the key
ways we’re developing the
long-haul market is through
a strong presence at major
trade shows around the world,
as well as through online and
print advertising.
Key issues and challenges
for us moving forward
are primarily based on
connectivity. We are working
hard to bring together
all industry players, from
Government, private and
public sectors. Moving into
this new decade, Sarawak
will, I am sure, see a major
transformation in terms of
air connectivity, and to this
end, we aim to encourage
more direct flight to Sarawak,
especially to the central
regions Sibu, Bintulu and
northern region, Miri. The
development of Sarawak’s
road networks will also be
an essential factor in the
development of tourism.
Digital marketing is also
becoming increasingly
important. We are
collaborating with industry
players to get more
involvement in digital
marketing, need to identify
the local operators, industry
players that are willing to
increase Digital marketing,
hence, moving to digital
footprint. Moreover the
Sarawak Government also has
a budget for digital marketing.
Our main pillars of Sarawak
as a tourist destination?
“CANFF”: Culture, Adventure,
Nature, Food and Festival
are the main pillars. All these
things combined make
Sarawak a destination that
is highly unique and can,
in themselves, help travel
professionals create an
unforgettable itinerary for
their clients
www.sarawaktourism.com
SMART GUIDE 3