KUCHING: Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) has unveiled its new and improved Sarawak Travel Portal and App in an effort to promote tourist attractions and tourism products across the state.
Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Hamzah said the new portal and app is a culmination of efforts from the ministry, Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA), STB and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) to produce a next-generation website and smart device application to provide an added value experience for travellers visiting Sarawak.
“Understanding and recognising the importance of creating a quality end-to-end experience for travellers has led to the next evolution in promoting Sarawak and its tourism products, and that is the merging of the Sarawak Tourism website with the Sarawak Travel Portal and App to create a seamless online experience for prospective travellers.
“Therefore, as the Travel Portal and App come equipped with cutting edge technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) components, users now get total control over what they can see of Sarawak’s culture, adventure, nature, food and festival (CANFF) offerings and experience Sarawak through a 360-degree view,” he said.
He said this during the unveiling of Sarawak Tourism’s Next Gen Digital Platform – A New and Improved Version of the Sarawak Travel Portal and App at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) on yesterday (Dec 6).
Abdul Karim added the Sarawak Travel Portal and App was first launched in February 2020, and now with a total of five modules, the upgraded website and app offer fun and engaging digital solutions for visitors who want to make the most of their stay in Sarawak.
“Module 1 to 4 allow users to take virtual tours of many of Sarawak’s tourism destinations with detailed information of Old Kuching Heritage Sites, Scenic Sites, National Parks as well as Food Trails. This includes 3D models of iconic products such as Sarawak Cultural Village, Mulu National Park, Bako National Park and many more.
“Meanwhile, Module 5 adds a fun geo-location game, where visitors can accept challenges from the game feature on the app and start collecting badges to unlock various achievements,” he said.
Through Global Positioning System (GPS) technology on the app, he said, users also get to try out a fun way to explore Sarawak like visiting certain tourism attractions such as the Kuching Waterfront, Chinese History Museum, Brooke Gallery, Borneo Cultures Museum and others.
“Another new feature to highlight about the Sarawak Travel app is that it includes geofencing capabilities to inform users what tourist attractions are nearby while they are on the move.
“The geofencing feature will also give background info and the significance of the attraction and products, including directions on how to get there. This provides users with a more complete experience while bringing attention to the different attractions in their vicinity like a physical tour guide would do,” he said.
Abdul Karim also said as the state moves forward in line with the Sarawak government’s digital economy agenda, big data collected from such digital platforms helps the ministry to analyse travellers’ behaviour and trends and therefore contributes to delivering better services.
“I look forward to more digital transformation initiatives that will increase the tourism sector’s efficiency and productivity.
“Together, let us work hand in hand to make Sarawak a leading eco-tourism destination in the Asean region as we take on the themes of sustainability and the digital revolution more intensely than before,” he said.
The app named Sarawak Travel is now available on both Google Play Store and Apple Store as well as the Huawei App Gallery.
