CONTENTEDITORIAL#03
CONTENTEDITORIAL#03 VISIONReinvigorating tourism in SarawakPuan Sharzede Datu Hj Salleh Askor,CEO, Sarawak Tourism Board#04 FACTS & FIGURESSarawak works to boost international tourism#05 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWTourism - an essential pillar of Sarawak’s economyDatuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Ministerof Tourism, Arts and Culture cum Minister ofYouth and Sport, Sarawak#06 TRADE TALKDestination Sarawak – as seen by travelprofessionalsRichard BarnesEditor-in-ChiefSarawak – an openbook for tourism#07 THEMATIC TRAVELUP CLOSE ANDPERSONAL WITHSARAWAKʼSDIVERSECULTURAL ROOTSSARAWAKHOME TOCOUNTLESSFESTIVALS#20 MICEMICE in Sarawak#08#21 TRANSPORT & INFRASTRUCTURE#23 SARAWAK MAPS#12WHITE RAJAHBROUGHT BACKTO LIFE#10NEW ROLEFORSEMENGGOH#18Destination Borneo, and moreparticularly the Malaysian stateof Sarawak, evokes a numberof images for people today: awild land… the domain of theorangutan… the numerous Dayakindigenous cultures… virginrainforest… the extraordinaryhistory of Sarawak’s “WhiteRajahs”. Indeed, Sarawak todaystill has all of that, but alsoboasts a tourism offering thatis evolving quickly, while seeingthe application of a strict policyensuring eco-responsibility andsustainability.One cannot say Sarawak haseverything. No, it doesn’thave skyscrapers, it doesn’thave multi-lane traffic jams, itdoesn’t have thick smog haze,and it certainly doesn’t haveovertourism. Sarawak remainsvery much an open book whenit comes to tourism, in a goodsense, as the state authoritieshave been able to look at bestand worst-case scenarios inother parts of Southeast Asia,and plan accordingly to ensuretourism in this state heads in theright direction.With a new CEO since late 2018, inthe person of Sharzede Datu HJSalleh Askor, Sarawak TourismBoard is honing strategies forpromotion and infrastructureimprovement with a view todeveloping international tourism.This is being done in such a wayas to benefit local communities,while delivering unforgettableexperiences – truly adding value– through a new multi-prongedplan covering culture, adventure,nature, food and festivals(CANFF).This SMARTguide aims to bea veritable “decision-makingtool” for the travel professional,delivering important destinationnews and new ideas when itcomes to planning travel to thisplace. We are sure you will findit to be extremely valuable forall those in the travel planningbusiness.Edition, produced by CLEVERDIS, 65 avenue Jules Cantini, Tour Méditerranée, 13006 Marseille, France - Tel: + 33 442 77 46 00 - info@cleverdis.com • www.cleverdis.comSARL capitalised at Euros 155,750 - RCS Marseille 413 604 471 - VAT FR 95413604471President & 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.With the participation of: Bettina Badon, Benjamin Klene, Xiaojing Si, Jasdeep Singh, Veronika Verzhak• On cover: Iban longhouse on Batang ai lake © Cleverdis• Registration of Copyright March 2020. Information presented in this publication is purely indicative in order to illustrate subjects contained therein. No guarantee can be given as to the accuracy of data or content at time of printing and thusthe latter should not be used to professional or commercial ends. While all efforts have been made as to accuracy and pertinence of content and data contained in this publication, CLEVERDIS may in no case be held responsible for the consequences,whatever their nature may be, that may result from the interpretation of this data or content, or any eventual errors therein. All rights are reserved. Any reproduction of the content of this publication, even partial, by any procedure whatsoever, is strictlyprohibited without the prior authorisation of the publisher. Any copy, whether by photography, photography film, magnetic tape, disc or other means constitutes a forgery, liable to punishment under French law under the legislation of 11 th March 1957covering copyright. All brands cited in this publication are registered trade marks and/or belong to companies which are their respective proprietors. The publishers and editorial staff decline all responsibilty as to opinions formulated in this publicationby those interviewed or cited therein. Their opinions are entirely their own, and are included with the understanding that they contain, to our knowledge, no malicious intent. The inclusion of all texts, photographs and other documents supplied by thoseincluded in the report imply the acceptance by their authors of their free publication therein. Documents and photgraphs are not returned. It should be understood that this publication contains forward-looking statements that involve risks,uncertainties and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include assumptions relating to the timing of the recorddate. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialises or any of these assumptions proves incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the expectations outlined in these statements. Cleverdis assumes no obligation and does not intend toupdate these forward-looking statements during the period of publication. Photo Credits and Copyright: All Rights Reserved2 SMART GUIDE www.sarawaktourism.com
Datuk Abdul KarimRahman HamzahMinister of Tourism, Arts, Culture,Youth and Sports, SarawakWE ARE SATISFIEDWITH THE POSITIVEGROWTH OF VISITORSTO SARAWAK LAST YEAR,RECEIVING 231,498MORE VISITORARRIVALS COMPAREDTO 2018VisionReinvigoratingtourism in SarawakPuan Sharzede DatuHj Salleh AskorCEO – Sarawak Tourism Board2020 is an encouraging yearfor Sarawak Tourism Boardas we wet the Visit SarawakCampaign Phase Two intoaction. We are satisfied withthe positive growth of visitorsto Sarawak last year, receiving231,498 more visitor arrivalscompared to 2018 (2018:4,430,921 & 2019: 4,662,419)- a growth rate of +5.22%.As part of this, we achieveda significant rise in visitorarrivals from the domesticmarket, with a growth rate of+11.3%. The Sarawak TourismBoard is working on improvingour existing strategies andplans. Having set the targetof five million visitor arrivals toSarawak, we are confident thatwith the intensive marketingand promotional campaignsof Sarawak Tourism Board indomestic markets and theASEAN region, this should beachievable. We are workingon building collaboration withairlines, enhancing our digitalplatforms, and continuingaggressive promotion andmarketing campaigns in allour focus markets.We are also seeking to grow thelong-haul market in additionto 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, tryingthe exotic food and having funat our festivals. One of the keyways we’re developing thelong-haul market is througha strong presence at majortrade shows around the world,as well as through online andprint advertising.Key issues and challengesfor us moving forwardare primarily based onconnectivity. We are workinghard to bring togetherall industry players, fromGovernment, private andpublic sectors. Moving intothis new decade, Sarawakwill, I am sure, see a majortransformation in terms ofair connectivity, and to thisend, we aim to encouragemore direct flight to Sarawak,especially to the centralregions Sibu, Bintulu andnorthern region, Miri. Thedevelopment of Sarawak’sroad networks will also bean essential factor in thedevelopment of tourism.Digital marketing is alsobecoming increasinglyimportant. We arecollaborating with industryplayers to get moreinvolvement in digitalmarketing, need to identifythe local operators, industryplayers that are willing toincrease Digital marketing,hence, moving to digitalfootprint. Moreover theSarawak Government also hasa budget for digital marketing.Our main pillars of Sarawakas a tourist destination?“CANFF”: Culture, Adventure,Nature, Food and Festivalare the main pillars. All thesethings combined makeSarawak a destination thatis highly unique and can,in themselves, help travelprofessionals create anunforgettable itinerary fortheir clientswww.sarawaktourism.comSMART GUIDE 3
