CONTENT EDITORIAL #03
CONTENT EDITORIAL #03 VISION Reinvigorating tourism in Sarawak Puan Sharzede Datu Hj Salleh Askor, CEO, Sarawak Tourism Board #04 FACTS & FIGURES Sarawak works to boost international tourism #05 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Tourism - an essential pillar of Sarawak’s economy Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture cum Minister of Youth and Sport, Sarawak #06 TRADE TALK Destination Sarawak – as seen by travel professionals Richard Barnes Editor-in-Chief Sarawak – an open book for tourism #07 THEMATIC TRAVEL UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH SARAWAKʼS DIVERSE CULTURAL ROOTS SARAWAK HOME TO COUNTLESS FESTIVALS #20 MICE MICE in Sarawak #08 #21 TRANSPORT & INFRASTRUCTURE #23 SARAWAK MAPS #12 WHITE RAJAH BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE #10 NEW ROLE FOR SEMENGGOH #18 Destination Borneo, and more particularly the Malaysian state of Sarawak, evokes a number of images for people today: a wild land… the domain of the orangutan… the numerous Dayak indigenous cultures… virgin rainforest… the extraordinary history of Sarawak’s “White Rajahs”. Indeed, Sarawak today still has all of that, but also boasts a tourism offering that is evolving quickly, while seeing the application of a strict policy ensuring eco-responsibility and sustainability. One cannot say Sarawak has everything. No, it doesn’t have skyscrapers, it doesn’t have multi-lane traffic jams, it doesn’t have thick smog haze, and it certainly doesn’t have overtourism. Sarawak remains very much an open book when it comes to tourism, in a good sense, as the state authorities have been able to look at best and worst-case scenarios in other parts of Southeast Asia, and plan accordingly to ensure tourism in this state heads in the right direction. With a new CEO since late 2018, in the person of Sharzede Datu HJ Salleh Askor, Sarawak Tourism Board is honing strategies for promotion and infrastructure improvement with a view to developing international tourism. This is being done in such a way as to benefit local communities, while delivering unforgettable experiences – truly adding value – through a new multi-pronged plan covering culture, adventure, nature, food and festivals (CANFF). This SMARTguide aims to be a veritable “decision-making tool” for the travel professional, delivering important destination news and new ideas when it comes to planning travel to this place. We are sure you will find it to be extremely valuable for all those in the travel planning business. Edition, produced by CLEVERDIS, 65 avenue Jules Cantini, Tour Méditerranée, 13006 Marseille, France - Tel: + 33 442 77 46 00 - info@cleverdis.com • www.cleverdis.com SARL capitalised at Euros 155,750 - RCS Marseille 413 604 471 - VAT FR 95413604471 President & CEO: Gérard Lefebvre - Managing Director: Jean-François Pieri - Production Manager: Jean-Guy Bienfait - Editor-in-Chief: Richard Barnes - Head of editorial team: John Falchetto - Art Director: Hélène Beunat. 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Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, Sarawak WE ARE SATISFIED WITH THE POSITIVE GROWTH OF VISITORS TO SARAWAK LAST YEAR, RECEIVING 231,498 MORE VISITOR ARRIVALS COMPARED TO 2018 Vision Reinvigorating tourism in Sarawak Puan Sharzede Datu Hj Salleh Askor CEO – Sarawak Tourism Board 2020 is an encouraging year for Sarawak Tourism Board as we wet the Visit Sarawak Campaign Phase Two into action. We are satisfied with the positive growth of visitors to Sarawak last year, receiving 231,498 more visitor arrivals compared to 2018 (2018: 4,430,921 & 2019: 4,662,419) - a growth rate of +5.22%. As part of this, we achieved a significant rise in visitor arrivals from the domestic market, with a growth rate of +11.3%. The Sarawak Tourism Board is working on improving our existing strategies and plans. Having set the target of five million visitor arrivals to Sarawak, we are confident that with the intensive marketing and promotional campaigns of Sarawak Tourism Board in domestic markets and the ASEAN region, this should be achievable. We are working on building collaboration with airlines, enhancing our digital platforms, and continuing aggressive promotion and marketing campaigns in all our focus markets. We are also seeking to grow the long-haul market in addition to the ASEAN market and “border” tourism. As we know, visitors from Europe, the USA, and more locally, Australasia, love our adventure offering, our nature and culture, trying the exotic food and having fun at our festivals. One of the key ways we’re developing the long-haul market is through a strong presence at major trade shows around the world, as well as through online and print advertising. Key issues and challenges for us moving forward are primarily based on connectivity. We are working hard to bring together all industry players, from Government, private and public sectors. Moving into this new decade, Sarawak will, I am sure, see a major transformation in terms of air connectivity, and to this end, we aim to encourage more direct flight to Sarawak, especially to the central regions Sibu, Bintulu and northern region, Miri. The development of Sarawak’s road networks will also be an essential factor in the development of tourism. Digital marketing is also becoming increasingly important. We are collaborating with industry players to get more involvement in digital marketing, need to identify the local operators, industry players that are willing to increase Digital marketing, hence, moving to digital footprint. Moreover the Sarawak Government also has a budget for digital marketing. Our main pillars of Sarawak as a tourist destination? “CANFF”: Culture, Adventure, Nature, Food and Festival are the main pillars. All these things combined make Sarawak a destination that is highly unique and can, in themselves, help travel professionals create an unforgettable itinerary for their clients www.sarawaktourism.com SMART GUIDE 3
