Sarawak targets four mln visitor arrivals in 2024

KUCHING: Sarawak is expected to receive four million visitor arrivals with an estimated RM9.76 billion in revenue next year.

Sarawak Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the target followed the state’s encouraging trend of visitor arrivals this year.

“My ministry had projected three million visitor arrivals with RM7.6 billion in revenue in 2023. However, as of October, Sarawak has received 3.18 million visitors.

“The tourism receipts stood at RM8.07 billion which contributed about 5.75 per cent to Sarawak’s gross domestic product (GDP),” he said when winding up the debate on the state’s Budget 2024 for the ministry in the state legislative assembly today.

Abdul Karim said the post-COVID-19 tourism industry in Sarawak is expected to grow exponentially corresponding with signs of positive growth in the global tourism scenario.

He said Sarawak expected visitor arrivals to be fully recovered to pre-pandemic level by 2025.

“As Sarawak charts into new ventures especially with the acquisition of MASWing, development of tourism attractions is expected to be completed by then and I am confident tourism shall flourish and become one of the main drivers to Sarawak’s GDP Growth and sustain its high-income status,” he said.

Meanwhile, Abdul Karim said the National Parks and Nature Reserves in Sarawak continue to be the most preferred destinations for both domestic and foreign visitors.

He said as of October this year, a total of 426,925 visitors had arrived at the 25 National Parks and Nature Reserves, comprising 319,931 domestic visitors and 106,994 foreign visitors.–Bernama