KUCHING: The Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts has set its sight on achieving a target of three million visitor arrivals to Sarawak next year.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said with the goal, the ministry aims to generate about RM7.25 billion in tourism receipts.
“Based on performance and trends over the past few months, my ministry aims to achieve three million visitor arrivals in 2023.
“While international tourism slowly bounces back, domestic tourism will continue to drive the recovery of the state’s tourism industry,” he said.
He said this in his ministerial winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today (Nov 30).
Abdul Karim added that according to the United Nation World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), international tourism is expected to continue its gradual recovery and restore 65 percent back to the pre-pandemic level in 2022 and 85 percent in 2023 despite significant mounting economic and geopolitical challenges.
On another note, he said as of January to October this year, visitor arrivals into the state increased by 1118.41 percent to 1,378,017 as compared to the same corresponding period in 2021.
“We are confident that Sarawak will receive an estimated 1.8 million visitors by the end of the year surpassing our target of 1.2 million visitors for this year,” he said.
