BY the end of this year, Sarawak will welcome four expedition cruise ships with an estimated 622 passengers berthing in Miri and Kuching.
Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said passengers will discover more of Sarawak during their shore excursions to various tourism attractions.
“Recently, the Sarawak Tourism (STB) entered into strategic partnership with Scoot Airlines Singapore to strengthen connectivity between Singapore and Sarawak’s cities, namely Kuching, Miri and Sibu.
“This collaboration has led to an increase of 14 weekly flights daily to Kching, four to Miri, and three to Sibu.
“STB continues to pursue connectivity collaboration via the hub and spoke strategy with other airlines such as AirAsia, Royal Brunei Airlines, Indonesia AirAsia, and Batik Air to drive growth in the tourism sector,” he said during his ministerial winding-up speech today.
Abdul Karim said that this year, STB’s Strategic Partnership Collaboration Fund (SPCF) initiative approved submissions, totalling RM443,814, while the Visitor Incentive Packages (VIPs) initiative full utilised its allocation.
“Meanwhile, the Sarawak Tourism Online Ecosystem Fund (STOEF), in its fifth phase, continues to enhance stakeholders’ digital presence through website updates, content creation, digital marketing, and e-booking system, booting visibility and customer reach for homestays, travel agents, handicraft merchant and hoteliers.
“The STB Trade and Consumer Travel Fair Participation was introduce to enhance the participation of Sarawak tourism industry players in trade and consumers fairs.
“The support is divided into three tiers: RM5,000 for long-haul markets (Europe, Oceania, Americas), RM4,000 for medium-haul markets (Asean, North Asia, Middle East, India), and RM1,500 for short haul markets (Domestics),” he added.
To date, Abdul Karim sais STB has supported 20 industry players, facilitating their participation in various trade and consumers fairs with a total allocation of RM102,500.
