KUCHING, 1 July – The Malaysian state of Sarawak will reach its tourism target of 1.2 million visitors in 2022 due many events and festivals scheduled to be held in the state, said Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Sarawak’s tourist arrivals recorded a huge growth of 680 per cent in the first five months of this year compared to last year, with 439,150 visitors and more expected to visit the tourism state in the coming months of 2022.
The minister said that Sarawak should be able to achieve the target of 1.2 million visitors because it has a new event every month, including international marathons, the Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival and What About Kuching 2022 campaign (WAK).
“Furthermore, by Aug 1, the borders of Brunei will be opened and we expect at least 4,000 people per week coming in from Brunei,” he added.
Abdul Karim also announced that the number of foreign tourists grew by 376 per cent to 43,404 visitors between January and May this year, compared to the same period last year.
Last year, Sarawak received 6.5 million domestic visitors, making it one of the most visited states in Malaysia and one of the most active attractions in the domestic tourism industry, according to the Domestic Tourism Survey 2021 report, which is released annually by the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Abdul Karim said after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, WAK 2022 would finally be held from Oct 1 to 31 with the tagline, ‘By The Community For The Community’, to celebrate the arts, culture and lifestyles of the creative community.
Source: ASWAQ/Bernama
