Sarawak: A tourism gem waiting to be discovered

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Tourist arrivals to the land of hornbills in the year 2012 breached the four million mark, jacking up industry players’ optimism on the progress of the sector going forward. With numerous new hotels being planned and opened in major cities and towns, BizHive Weekly speaks to players and experts about their take on the industry going forward.

 Sarawak: A tourism gem waiting to be discovered

Gracie Geikie, USCI Communications Sdn Bhd managing director

Gracie Geikie, USCI Communications Sdn Bhd managing director

Travel has evolved over time beyond train tracks and seas to the air at speeds previously unimaginable, making the world accessible and afford­able to the general public and possible for low cost carriers to rule the skies with their economies of scale.

In 2011, Malaysia ranked number nine on the World Tourism Organisation’s list of most visited countries by international tourist arriv­als.

According to the Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen, a total of 25,032,708 foreign tourists visited Ma­laysia last year, yielding up to RM60.6 billion in revenue. Such growth was noted to be in line with the target of the Malaysian Tourism Plan 2020 – that was to achieve 36 million tourist arrivals and tourism revenue of RM168 billion by the year 2020.

While the industry is pro­gressing well on the national front, the state of Sarawak is not traditionally synonymous with tourism. Despite the rich natural resources and abundance of tropical rain­forests, national parks and beaches, total tourist arrivals (domestic and international) averaged steadily below the four million mark.

In 2009, Sarawak recorded 3,028,022 arrivals, the number increased to 3,270,655 and 3,795,373 in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

However, last year, in 2012, the arrivals finally breached the mark as the state attracted 4,069,023 million total visitors. Sarawak Economic Develop­ment Corporation (SEDC) chairman, Datuk Talib Zulpilip also believed that this number would be exceeded this year with various activities in store in conjunction with Sarawak’s 50th Anniversary in Malaysia celebration.

Hospitality players and de­velopers appeared optimistic with regards to the slow and steady growth of arrivals as a multitude of hotels were being planned, built and operated, especially in key cities and towns such as the capital city and administrative centre of Kuching and the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) town Bintulu. For the capital city, apart from the many backpackers’ lodges and motels, more than 14 hotels have started receiving guests since 2008.

Earlier this year, Deputy Tourism Minister, Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit also revealed that Sarawak would receive over RM37 million for the development of tourism as the industry was a cornerstone of the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP).

“Of the total allocation, nearly RM10 million is meant for ad hoc tourism projects between 2011 and 2015. RM9.6 million worth of ad hoc projects have been implemented and there are 21 projects pending throughout the state,” the deputy minister added, noting that tourism was the second largest industry in Malaysia, behind the services industry.

With the multitude of hotels coming up, especially in the capital city of Kuching, as well as the highlight of the industry in the 10MP, one wonders if the situation in Sarawak is about to change and if the soon-to-be-increased supply will have a similarly increasing demand to cater to.

Propelling tourism to new heights through synergy

Sarawak, with an area of 124,000 square kilometres – almost as big as the Peninsular Malaysia, is a land rich with natural resources for ecotourism. Apart from the national parks, forest reserves and stretches of picturesque beaches, the state is also known for its wide array of cultures formed by the 27 ethnic groups that reside here.

Oxford Business Group’s Ma­laysia Report 2012 stated that, “While Peninsular Malaysia boasts a wide variety of ecotour­ism areas, the country’s major nature destinations are to be found on the island of Borneo… While Sarawak is much larger than Sabah, the latter region is home to a more developed tourism industry that is growing rapidly.”

The report observed that the number of visitors arriving in Sarawak had not increased much of late though adventure tourism activities including caving and hiking had helped to boost revenues considerably.

However, recent news reports highlighted that Sarawak registered more tourist arrivals than ‘the land below the wind’ last year despite the comparative lack of direct air connectivity. Deputy Tourism Minister, Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit said the state’s over four million tourists exceeded that of Sabah’s 2.8 million.

Amid contradicting views on the progress of the Sarawak tourism industry, BizHive Weekly talked to industry players and experts about their take on the matter.

According to USCI Communications Sdn Bhd managing director (MD) and ex Sarawak Tourism Board chief executive officer (CEO) Gracie Geikie, “Sarawak, as a tourism destination, has matured beautifully over the last 15 to 20 years, though not at a breakneck speed. But somehow, we are not the kind of destination that attracts thousands of jumbo jets at a time.”

“Sarawak is more of an experience, seeing that we have an abundance of natural resources. These resources that we have provide good opportunities for ecotourism and ethnobotany, a beauti­ful product that has yet to be packaged and sold,” she commented.

Gracie noted that a big part of Sarawak’s attraction remained in its culture.

The state has 27 tribal groups delivering a potpourri of flavours as each has their own cuisine, costumes and dances. In addition to that, destinations such as the Gunung Mulu National Park and the Bario Highlands are all gems waiting to be better discovered.

Plaza Merdeka Holdings Sdn Bhd (Plaza Merdeka) managing director, Steve Ng pointed out that while nature and ecotourism was one of the state’s key tourism at­tractions, Kuching city itself had much to offer.

“I think there should be a bal­ance between developing ecot­ourism and reviving tourism in the city. These are not in conflict and they both need effort,” he explained, noting that cities such as Miri and Kuching were the key entry points for tourists and that most would have to stay a few nights prior to exploring deeper into the land of hornbills.

56 Hotel’s director of sales and marketing, Trescott Gregory be­lieved that, “We have all the resources. I would strongly disagree if people say that there is nothing to see here. Beyond the Sarawak Cultural Village, the wildlife centres and the fa­mous orang-utans. It is a mat­ter of how you present to them and package the products.”

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