SIBU: Sarawak is lagging in attracting Chinese tourists to the state, despite visa-free travel given last December, says Oscar Ling.
The Sibu MP had taken the state government to task for failing to capitalise on this incentive launched on Dec 1, 2023.
He pointed to Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry data that showed 380,000 Chinese tourists visited Malaysia between December 2023 and April 2024.
“Of these, 110,000 went to Sabah, while only about 5,000 visited Sarawak,” he said in a statement on Friday (Oct 11).
"Based on this data, the Sarawak tourism industry still requires significant improvements to increase its competitiveness.
Despite the visa-free policy, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Sarawak remains low, with less than 2% of Chinese tourists choosing the state as their destination, highlighting that Sarawak is not a major draw for Chinese tourists,' said Ling.
Ling urged the Sarawak Tourism Board to take proactive measures to attract more tourists, such as offering travel packages with incentives like hotel discounts.
He also mentioned that Sarawak had to leverage its potential to host large-scale events, such as the SEA Games and concerts, to position itself as a major entertainment hub in Malaysia.
“However, this would require careful planning by the Sarawak government and investment in infrastructure development,” he said.
Additionally, Ling noted that Sarawak-Malaysia My Second Home (S-MM2H) programme has a lower entry threshold compared to Peninsula Malaysia, giving Sarawak the potential to become a preferred international education hub for foreign students.
Many Chinese parents, he said, choose Malaysia for its English-language education system through the second home program.
Ling added that the Sarawak government should invest in developing tourism and education as economic catalysts, rather than focusing solely on green energy and high-tech industries.
