SINCE 2012, Tourism Malaysia has been uploading details of tourist arrival figures on its website, usually more than three months after the end of each quarter. But it has yet to do so for this year.

It would be a step backward if Tourism Malaysia chose not to continue with this practice, as these statistics are the most useful and trusted source of information for inbound tourism to Malaysia. They are based on actual headcounts, not guesstimates from surveys.

Mercifully and thanks to Sabah and Sarawak exercising control of their immigration, the tourism authorities in these two regions continue to post visitor arrival figures for the first half of this year.

Sabah Tourism Board reported there were 577,943 international visitors and 912,965 Malaysian visitors from Sarawak and states located in the peninsula from January to June.

Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry & Performing Arts Ministry disclosed there were 1,498,102 international visitors and 915,017 Malaysian visitors from Sabah and peninsular states.

Does this mean that Sarawak has been much more successful in tourism promotions with a total of 2,413,119 visitor arrivals compared to 1,490,108 that entered Sabah?

However, the main reason for higher numbers for Sarawak is because of its proximity to Brunei which facilitates land border crossing, just like peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.

The number of Bruneians that entered Sarawak was 969,546 or 65% of international visitors. Similarly, Singaporeans have been contributing between 40-50% of all foreign tourists to Malaysia since 1965.

The other nine nationals that contributed the largest number of international visitors to Sarawak were Indonesia (331,613), China (33,766), Singapore (30,773), Philippines (22,795), India (20,722) UK (12,693), Australia (9,089), South Korea (6,020), and Taiwan (5,822).

For international visitors to Sabah, the top 10 nationals were China (203,869), Brunei (103,532), South Korea (90,613), Indonesia (56,664), Singapore (16,988), Philippines (15,875), Taiwan (14,107), UK (12,698), US (9,436) and Australia (8,212).

Clearly, the figures showed that Sabah had been very successful in attracting a wider range of international visitors, especially tourists from China and South Korea, as their combined figures were 294,482 compared to only 39,786 that visited Sarawak during the same period.

It’s not surprising if Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, the Bintulu MP and federal Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister is working hard to get more tourists from China, which is regarded as low-hanging fruit and wooed by many countries around the world.

In the first quarter of this year, Malaysia received 758,772 Chinese tourists and if the number is repeated for the rest of the year, the total for 2024 will be 3,035,088, far short of the targeted five million.

Unlike many nationals from South Asian and Southeast Asian countries wishing to settle in Malaysia, Chinese nationals enjoy a better livelihood back home and visit other countries for leisure, education or retirement, with no plans to secure Malaysian citizenship.

Most Malaysian Chinese may be able to communicate with them in Mandarin but difficult to assimilate, as their behaviours are different and easily noticed by local communities.

However, they are well connected by social media. Any bad news affecting them will reach millions within hours. Chinese tourists are quick to boycott or avoid countries or destinations that give them the shorter end of the stick.

Tiong had to fight fires on the ground frequently. In June 2023, he had to personally step in to help an employee of a China-based media company after she was held up by immigration officers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Academics and researchers worth their salt ought to know that we are promoting Malaysia globally, with Tourism Malaysia operating 30 offices around the world and has appointed seven marketing representatives.

The overseas offices are located in East Asia (8), ASEAN (6), West Asia (4), Europe (4), South Asia (3), Central Asia (2), Oceania (2) and North America (1). They were opened from 1971 to 2017 and the seven marketing representatives were appointed between 2003 and 2013.

Hence, there is no question of putting all the eggs in one basket, as alleged by a tourism academic, who called on the tourism ministry to build a market portfolio, which is great for discussions but hardly applicable in businesses that are too dynamic and changing rapidly.

Unlike academic theories, tourism is a business catering to current demands and cannot be shaped by individual industry players. To be successful, one must focus on the market with the highest potential or carve its niche market by offering a unique selling proposition.

The only caution is overspending on capital expenditures to cater to peak demands. Customers could also switch to other suppliers or destinations. Entrepreneurs must go all out to secure as much sales as possible, regardless of whether business will stagnate or drop in the future.

In this regard, both Sabah and Sarawak are in the right direction by promoting tourism to the world, including Malaysians from the peninsula. Domestic visitor arrival figures in peninsular states are based on claims but actual headcounts for Sabah and Sarawak.

In addition to Tourism Malaysia’s efforts, the Sabah Tourism Board and Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry & Performing Arts Ministry are doing a stupendous job in promoting tourism, unhindered by fear-mongering of attracting too many foreign visitors to their regions. - Aug 14, 2024

YS Chan is master trainer for Mesra Malaysia and Travel and Tours Enhancement Course and an Asean Tourism Master Trainer. He is also a tourism and transport business consultant. 

https://focusmalaysia.my/sabah-and-sarawak-in-right-direction-in-promoting-tourism/