Bintulu ‘perfect’ for international marathon

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BINTULU: A target of 5,000 to 10,000 participants has been set for the inaugural Sarawak International Marathon 2015 in Bintulu on March 22 next year.

The event will be jointly organised by Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) and Bintulu Resident Office with Asia Tourism Alliance Sdn Bhd as the official event manager.

Asia Tourism Alliance president and chief executive officer Kho Sze Min is expecting a significant number of runners from outside Sarawak to come.

“Thirty per cent are from overseas while the rest will be locals as well as other parts of Sarawak,” he said at the press conference to soft launch the event at Wisma Bintulu yesterday.

He added that Bintulu is a perfect venue for such a mass sporting event because the town has people from all over the world who are mostly working in the oil and gas industry.

“We will promote Bintulu along the way, five months from now we will position Bintulu as a sport tourism destination for Sarawak and Asean region.”

“Our priority is to highlight tourism iconic spots, we use this opportunity to promote Bintulu to international tourists,” Kho continued as he spoke about the route being planned.

More information and updates will be announced via www.ata.my and Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Asiatourismalliancecom

BDA deputy general manager Shukarmin Chasemon called on various agencies and non-governmental organisations here to come forward and support the event as volunteers.