John Teo
KUCHING (Nov 29): Hotels in the state achieved between 65 and 75 per cent occupancy rate by the fourth quarter of the year, more than six months after the relaxing of Covid-19 related travel restrictions, said John Teo.
The Malaysia Association of Hotels (MAH) Sarawak Chapter chairman said with more people starting to travel, hotels in Sarawak have enjoyed better occupancy compared to during the pandemic phase where average hotel occupancy in the state was between 25 and 35 per cent.
“For instance, hotels in Kuching achieve an average of 73 per cent for most star-rated hotels while Bintulu is having around 75 per cent occupancy.
“In Sibu and Miri, the star-rated hotels there have about 65 and 67 per cent occupancy,” he told The Borneo Post.
Teo, who is also Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) Board of Directors member, said one of the factors for the high occupancy rate is the promotion of ‘Sia Sitok’ tourism campaigns which have been doing quite well.
This, he said, allowed Sarawakians to travel and enjoy benefits that included 50 per cent discounts on hotel stays that resulted in boosting hotel occupancy further.
“For next year, we are working on promoting Sarawak on a similar platform that not only includes Sarawakians but also Peninsula Malaysians and Sabahans.
“We are also looking into how we can include Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia on similar packages,” he said.