KUCHING, May 14 — The Sarawak tourism industry will continue to recover throughout this year as both local and foreign visitors return, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said today.

The state tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister said the industry is expected to reach around 90 per cent of its pre-pandemic levels, in line with United Nations Tourism Organisation (UNTO) World Tourism Barometer prediction of 85 per cent recovery rate in 2023.

“My ministry projects to have four million visitor arrivals this year, bringing in an estimated RM10.19 billion in tourism revenue and contributing 7.25 per cent to Sarawak’s gross domestic product (GDP),” he said in his winding up speech in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly.

He said Sarawak received 3.92 million visitors last year, which was an increase of 93.82 per cent compared to the same period in 2022 and generated RM9.99 billion in tourism revenue, an increase of 101.41 per cent which contributed about 7.11 per cent to Sarawak’s GDP.

He said Sarawak visitor arrivals accounted for about 20 per cent of Malaysia’s total in 2023.

He said visitor arrivals to Sarawak from January to April this year showed an increase of 25.46 per cent jumped from 1.3 million when compared to the same corresponding period in 2023 to 1.62 million.

He said the visitor arrivals for the January-April 2024 generated an estimated RM4.17 billion, an increase of 27.43 per cent as compared to same period of 2023 with RM3.27 billion in tourism receipts.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/05/14/minister-sarawak-tourism-recovery-on-track/134245