Rashid: Foreigners contribute RM6bil in tourists revenue

Sarawak's domestic arrivals increased by 18% to 1.37 million despite several global challenges last year. Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Datuk Rashid Khan revealed that the state has also shown an improvement in the number of foreign arrivals. However, he could not furnish the actual figure but said the revenue from foreign arrivals was about RM6bil last year. “Our foreign arrivals are mostly from the high yield market who have the capacity to spend. The figure might be smaller than the domestic arrivals but the money is there,” he said during the STB Chinese New Year appreciation dinner for state tourism players in Kuching on Thursday.

For you: Rashid (left) presenting a souvenir as a token of appreciation to Borneo Convention Centre Kuching chief executive officer Paul D’Arcy at the dinner in Kuching.

He said the increase in domestic arrivals and the improvement in arrival of foreign tourists were definitely a plus point considering the natural disasters suffered in some countries. He noted that the volcanic eruption in Iceland in April and the problematic weather conditions in parts of Europe and the United States in December had seriously disrupted air travel. Rashid was confident of continued positive growth this year. He said based on the United Nation’s World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) projection, tourism figures would continue to increase in 2011. “I believe with some improvement in flight connectivity to Sarawak, we will perform better this year,” he said, adding that STB would continue to focus on the high yield regional market, especially in Asia.

“Asian countries like China, India, Japan, Korea and Singapore are our best bet for the continued growth of foreign arrivals in Sarawak. At the same time, we will also continue to attract high yield tourists from Australia, Europe and the US.” Rashid was also confident that Sarawak would continue to enjoy positive growth in domestic arrivals as it was the second largest destination after Klang Valley for domestic tourists, commanding about 11.5% of the total market size of 90.5 million in Malaysia.

-thestar online.