Sarawak confident tourist arrivals this year to surpass 2019’s 4.6 mln

KUCHING (Aug 7): Tourist arrivals in Sarawak this year is expected to surpass the previous record of 4.6 million achieved in 2019, said Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

He expressed this after disclosing Sarawak recorded more than 2.4 million tourist arrivals from January to June this year, an increase of 23.26 per cent compared to 1.96 million in the same period in 2023.

He also said out of the 2.4 million tourist arrivals during the first six months of this year, around 1.5 million were foreigners – 39.59 per cent more than during the corresponding period last year.

With Sarawak hosting many international events from July to December this year, Abdul Karim was confident the numbers will be on the upward trend again.

“So you can see our target of four million visitor arrivals for 2024 should be very, very easily achieved by September the latest. And this year, touch wood, I would say this year we will have the highest number of visitors.

“The highest we have ever achieved in Sarawak was in 2019 when we hit 4.6 million. But this year, I am very, very confident that we will surpass that,” he told a press conference on the Padawan Raft Safari 2024 yesterday.

He also revealed that tourism receipts in the first six months of this year were more than RM6.23 billion – 25.29 per cent more than the RM4.98 billion recorded in the same period in 2023.

“(The increase in tourists) is good for everybody, especially those that operate hotels, budget hotels, homestays, crafts, transportation companies, and of course, those who operate eateries,” he said, adding he had come across visitors from Singapore who told him they came to Sarawak for the weekend to enjoy the food.

On the Padawan Raft Safari 2024, Abdul Karim said it will be held on Oct 20 and is expected to attract 150 teams featuring local and international participants.

He also pointed out the event, now in its 21st edition and organised annually by Padawan Municipal Council (MPP), aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) and is part of Sarawak Delta Geopark Initiative.

He announced a new category, namely 15km women’s raft open, to add to existing 40km kayak category, 32km raft open category, and 22km raft for government agencies, hotel tour and NGO categories.

The starting points will be at Kampung Annah Rais, Temurang, Danu and Semadang while the finishing point will be at Kampung Git.

“Participants will compete for total cash prizes of RM19,000. This significant prize underscores the competitive spirit of recognition of excellence at the Padawan Raft Safari.

“But I can see through the years when I went over, the participants just want to enjoy themselves. It’s good networking, meeting up old friends,” said Abdul Karim, who himself had participated in canoeing in Kampung Semadang.

He called on interested participants to go to the event’s website at www.padawanraft.com for more information.

Registration is open on the website since July 31 and will close on Sept 20.