PATA chairman Peter Semone (left) presenting a souvenir to state Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah at the opening of the forum.
KUCHING: Sarawak's tourism sector is recovering towards pre-pandemic levels with improving trends in visitor arrivals and receipts this year, says Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The state Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister said Sarawak recorded tourism receipts of RM4.11bil from January to May against RM4.46bil during the same period in 2019.
He also said visitor arrivals were expected to exceed the three million target this year.
"We are off to a good start, recording 1.6 million arrivals from January to May this year, a 90.1% recovery compared to pre-pandemic numbers in 2019.
"I'm confident our arrivals will go past 4 million based on the number of visitors coming each month," he said when opening the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) destination experience forum here on Thursday (June 22).
Karim said tourism was expected to continue recovering throughout this year, driven by both domestic and international visitors.
He said Sarawak was also focusing on sustainable and responsible tourism in its recovery efforts.
"We actively encourage the public and visitors to be aware of their environmental impact and responsible tourism practices.
"Through collective engagement, we can contribute to the preservation of our natural resources and the wellbeing of local communities," he said.
Citing an example, Karim said Sarawak's renowned Rainforest World Music Festival was a platform to promote responsible tourism.
"For the festival, we have banned single-use plastics, besides upcycling used materials and exploring innovative waste management solutions in order to create awareness on responsible tourism among festival goers and vendors," he said.
