Abd Karim: Unlocking Sarawak’s distinctive allure to draw premium tourists

KUCHING (Jan 25): Sarawak is not only rich in flora and fauna, but also in ethnic and cultural diversity, thus making the state unique in terms of depicting a pluralist society with a high value of tolerance.

Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said these two features are among Sarawak’s main strengths in attracting visitors to the state.

“Culture, adventure, nature and food festivals are the ones that we have been marketing. We’d like to continue this because I noticed that a lot of people are coming to Sarawak because of that.

“For example, Bruneians come for the food and festivals in Miri or Bintulu because they cannot find these things in Brunei,” he told Bernama in an interview.

He said the goal of attracting four million tourists to Sarawak in 2024 is central to the strategic vision for the state’s tourism, adding that the state recorded more than 3.5 million tourist arrivals last year.

“How we bring in these people, there must be a specific purpose. We must have music festivals, cultural festivals, food festivals and even sports festivals and medical tourism,” he said.

Striving for the ambitious target of drawing four million visitors to Sarawak in 2024, the tourism strategy centres on establishing the state as a premier eco-tourism hub, with an emphasis on responsible and sustainable practices.

However, Abdul Karim emphasised that to attract tourists, the focus should be on catering to a demographic inclined to have bigger spending and longer stays.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Sharzede Salleh Askor said the board took bolder and more aggressive measures and strategies in marketing the state at the international level to prepare for the Visit Malaysia Year 2026.

She said that STB’s strategies focused on eco-tourism, prioritising unique and responsible experiences, which involve emphasising sustainable infrastructure development to balance tourism growth with the region’s natural beauty and minimise environmental impact.

She explained that the goal is to encourage tourists to participate in cultural experiences and initiatives and foster a sense of responsibility and ownership of Sarawak’s natural and cultural heritage.

“As part of our strategy, we have taken proactive steps to collaborate with international partners and increase our global recognition.

“For instance, we recently launched a campaign in the United Kingdom with National Geographic Traveller (UK) and TripAdvisor, providing informative articles and videos to potential travellers,” she said.

These efforts, she said, led to Sarawak winning several awards at the international level, including the Global Communications Campaign Award by Davos World Communications Forum Award (WCFA) 2023.

“We aspire to nurture cultural preservation, champion responsible practices and create unforgettable experiences for our visitors.

“Our commitment transcends the present, reaching into sustainability, intending to make a positive impact on the community and leave a lasting legacy for future generations,” she said. – Bernama