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KUCHING – Sarawak expects to exceed its target of 3 million tourist arrivals this year, said state Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
He said this is because the state has already registered over 300,000 visitors as of last month, and the number of total visitors had shot up compared to the same period in 2022.
“For March 2023, visitors arrival into Sarawak is 323,960 while in 2022, it was only 8,688. So there is a growth of 272.88% in tourist arrivals this year.
“Of these figures, foreigners arrival is at 168,627 as compared to 2022’s 3,959. There is a growth of 4,159.33% – it’s a huge jump. As for domestic travellers, there were 155,333 visitors coming into Sarawak in March. Compared to the same period last year, there’s a growth of 87.32%,” he told reporters when met at his residence during his Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house.
Karim said he is expecting to see an influx of tourists during the return of many musical and arts events in the second half of 2023.
He cited the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) in June as an example, and said it would help increase the number of tourist arrivals in the state.
“You see, from January to March this year, this is important because we have a target of 3 million visitors for 2023. For this period, the number of foreigners alone coming into Sarawak was at 496,636 – in 2022, it was only 10,563. As for domestic travellers, we received 427,361. In 2022, it was 219,115.
“So, there is a growth of 95.04% – we are very much on target this year. I expect by September or October this year, we will hit the 3 million target,” he said.
With the rising number of tourist arrivals, Karim said he would not be surprised if even 4 million visitors arrive by the end of this year.
“We might even hit 4 million. We are very confident of that because the first three months of 2023, we already have this kind of figures. Normally during this period, (arrivals) are quite slow, but the moment we enter June, which is when RWMF starts, we will see a lot of tourists coming in the following months.
“You never know, it might even hit 4.5 million this year,” he said. – Borneo Post Online, April 23, 2023