Muristek
Sarawak Tourism Board on track to achieve 1.2 million tourist arrivals this year following border re-opening, says CEO
Sarawak Tourism Board chief executive officer Sharzede Salleh Askor sees positive recovery signs for the tourism sector. ― Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri
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KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 ― Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) is on track to achieve 1.2 million tourist arrivals this year as part of its post-pandemic recovery efforts.
The state aims to generate RM3.2 billion in tourism receipts this year to recover the sector and economy from the damages of the Covid-19 pandemic over the past two years.
STB chief executive officer Sharzede Salleh Askor said the board is confident of achieving the target as the state has been showing signs of recovery since October 2021.
Based on statistics from January to March, Sarzede said the state saw 229,000 visitors this year, which was a big jump from 33,955 tourists during the same period in 2021.
“We are hoping to achieve the 1.2 million target this year provided we have a constant frequency of flights and no disruption.”
She said the state achieved 4.66 million tourist arrivals in 2019 and was on track to hit the five-million target in 2020 based on the stats from January and February 2020.
However, the tourism industry went on a prolonged hiatus from March 2020 until late last year due to the pandemic.
“We were so confident to achieve the five-million target but the pandemic disrupted it.
“In fact, 2020 was supposed to be a conversion year for us to increase tourist arrivals due to the long-term promotion plans.”
Despite the disruption, Sharzede said the board never stopped its marketing efforts to maintain its top-of-mind position and be ready to welcome back the tourists once the borders reopen.
“The continuous marketing efforts have paid off and we are witnessing positive recovery signs now,” said Sharzede at the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Fair over the weekend.
Breaking down the demographic, she said over 52 per cent of the visitors in Sarawak are domestic travellers, while the remaining comes from the Asean and European regions.
Sharzede said that based on the current market situation, it may take about two years for the tourism sector to recover from the damages of the pandemic.