One of the interactive dinosaurs on display.
MIRI: Sarawak is working very closely with Brunei to promote the neighbouring states as twin destinations in their tourism packages.
According to Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) recently had a meeting with the chief executive officer (CEO) and management team of Royal Brunei Airlines to discuss ways of promoting Sarawak and Brunei.
“We are working on twin destination promotions. Brunei will have Brunei plus Sarawak and Brunei plus Miri in their packages and we will have Sarawak plus Brunei in our packages.
“When visitors come to Miri, we will also promote our Miri plus Brunei packages. For example, we have a promotion in China and we say ‘come to Miri and you can also visit Brunei which is just across the border’,” he said at the launching of a month-long Starlight Discover Miri event at Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club on Friday night.
Also present at the ceremony were Lee’s wife Datin Christina Kong, Miri Mayor Adam Yii, local councillors and the event organising chairman William Lu.
Lee added the state government has also discussed with Royal Brunei Airline to promote Brunei plus Miri or Brunei plus Sarawak packages overseas.
“These are win-win packages and advantageous to both Brunei and Sarawak. Therefore, we hope tourism players in both Brunei and Sarawak will work closely together in promoting these twin destinations to boost tourism in Sarawak and Brunei.”
Lee hoped that more events would be organised in conjunction with the start of Visit Sarawak campaign next year to attract visitors from different parts of the world.
“On the part of STB, we have worked out the calendar of events for 2019, and will be promoting them overseas. We have started our roadshow at Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and recently at the World Tourism Mart in London.
“Next week, we will be going to China to promote Sarawak tourism . It’s not a one year thing but ongoing.
“We hope that starting 2019, our tourism industry will start to grow continuously and contribute to the economic growth of Sarawak and Miri,” he pointed out.
Touching on the Starlight Discover Miri event, Lee praised the organiser X Dream Event for organising the month-long programme.
“The tagline Starlight Discover Miri is appropriate as we want people to come and discover Miri. I hope this event will bring a lot of tourists to Miri.
“My ministry, STB and Miri City Counci (MCC) are supporting this event and we welcome our friends and neighbours from Brunei. Brunei is our closest neighbour with Bandar Seri Begawan just about one and a half hour away,” said Lee.
He was happy to note the event organiser working closely with hoteliers, travel agents and bus operators in Brunei to promote the event that features interactive dinosaurs, decorative led lights and artificial snow, Christmas decorations, great food as well as endless performances.