KUCHING: Sarawak recorded a slight increase in the number of tourists arrivals in the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year.
Ritzerwan presents duit raya packets to a passenger as Talib looks on (front second right).
Assistant Minister of Tourism Datuk Talib Zulpilip announced this during a press conference at Kuching International Airport yesterday.
“There is an overall increase of 7.59 per cent of tourists coming to Sarawak from January to April 2014 compared to the same period of time last year,” he said.
“A total of 1.5 million tourists visited Sarawak this year from January to April. We are confident that the number of tourists will increase as the economy’s environment is still fine.”
He said the number of foreign tourists increased by 2.3 per cent while domestic tourists rose by 17 per cent in the same period.
Talib said the state is optimistic the tourism industry will continue to grow based on current trends.
Meanwhile, he said close cooperation between the state government and MASwings has helped with Sarawak’s tourism development.
“I can say that MASwings’ service is not bad. I hope they maintain their standard as the service industry always needs to maintain good service and keep improving,” he said.
The MASwings crew will dress in Baju Melayu and kebayas for selected flights within Sabah and Sarawak in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
MASwings CEO Captain Ritzerwan Rashid said this is part of efforts to bring the airline closer to the community.
MASwings, the regional subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, has been operating in East Malaysia for nearly seven years.