Five million target set for 2019

(From left) Tourism Malaysia International Promotion Division (Asia/Africa) senior director Datuk Musa Yusuf, Sarawak Tourism, Arts and Culture Assistant Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Abdul Karim, Sharzede, STB chairman Datuk Abdul Wahab Aziz, STB deputy chairman Hii Chang Kee and Tourism Malaysia Domestic and Events senior director Datuk Dr Ammar Ghapar flanked by traditional dancers at the launch.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak is targeting the arrival of five million tourists in 2019 following the launch of the Visit Sarawak logo.

State Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the estimate is the same as in 2017.

“Last year, we targeted five million as well but we achieved 4.85 million tourists visiting Sarawak.

“This year our target is actually 5.2 million tourists and as at September, we have hit more than three million tourists.

“Hopefully more will be coming during the school holidays and later in the year,” he told reporters after launching the Visit Sarawak logo here.

The Visit Sarawak logo will be the anchor emblem for the Visit Sarawak campaign.

Designed to connote fun, and friendliness, the multi-coloured logo spelling out “Sarawak” with the tagline, “More to Discover, represents the aspirations of the campaign.

Comprising seven colours, in curled script, the red and yellow colours represent the state flag while orange represents the strong spirit and vibrant energy of the different ethnic communities within Sarawak, which is quintessential to the state’s diverse tourism proposition.

Green is used to represent the verdant rainforests abundant with wildlife while blue signifies the calmness of the ocean along Sarawak’s long coastline.

The uniqueness of the logo is augmented by the hornbill, which replaces the letter “A,” representing Sarawak’s moniker, “Bumi Kenyalang,” or “Land of the Hornbills”.

Hamzah said the new tagline underscores the Sarawak Tourism Board’s strategy to position the state as a destination for culture, adven­ture, nature, food and festivals.

He said the state will target six international markets as well as domestic arrivals.

“We will target an increase of 12% in arrivals from the Malaysian market.”

International arrivals to Sarawak stood at 2.6 million last year.

Some of the key international markets for Visit Sarawak will be Britain Germany, Europe, China, Australia as well as Asean countries. Asean countries accounted for 48.98% or 2.38 million arrivals in 2017.

STB chief executive officer Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor said digital will be a large part of the campaign.

“Besides creating content on digital platforms, we are also developing a mobile app which will anchor the discovery process for all our visitors.”

The event saw performances by Dayang Nurfaizah and Tuku Kame.