KUCHING: It was beyond expectations. The Kuching Food Festival (KFF) which ended last Sunday (Aug 21) notched up one million visitors – exceeding the initially-targeted 500,000 visitors.
Said an ecstatic Kuching City South Council (MBKS) Mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng: “We targeted half a million people (to the food fair), but we broke the record of one million mark two nights ago.
“This came as a surprise, but of course this is an endorsement by the people.”
He made this remark on the last day of the KFF through a Facebook live session on Sunday.
Wee thanked the visitors and those who contributed towards the success of the event.
“After a two-year lapse (due to COVID-19), we have done our best to make sure that all the stalls ran smoothly.
“We hope that if there is any way to improve this festival, please come directly to us and let us know how we can do better (next year),” he said.
He pledged a better KFF next year.
“For those who will be participating in the event next year, get ready as we would like to have more creative food varieties to upgrade our Sarawak food so that we will be able to show to the world (what we can offer) in line with our status as the UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Prof Dr Sim Kui Hian in a video message said that KFF is aimed at stimulating the various economic activities in the city.
“A lot of people did not realise that KFF is an important economic creation for Sarawak. It is the single largest tourism event. Every night, an average of 40,000 people visited the fair,” he said.
He added that KFF’s economic activities are not only restricted to the event itself, but the hotels in surrounding areas have also benefited from it.
“I want to congratulate the mayor, councillors, and senior management of MBKS and all those involved for creating KFF as an important economic activity,” said Dr Sim.
