SIBU: City residents have been urged to support community events held in conjunction with Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) to help showcase its uniqueness to visitors.
"Sibu stands out (for)... ethnic and cultural diversity, special traditional food, friendly community, and great tourism products," said Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Chiew Choon Man.
"Hey segments such as cultural and heritage tourism, gastronomy, sports, creative tourism and family-friendly tourism are potential segments for Sibu," he added at the Menuju 2026 –Terokai Sibu, Rasa Malaysia (Towards 2026 – Explore Sibu, Experience Malaysia) in Sibujaya on Wednesday (December 31) night.
He urged tourism industry players, traders, service providers and others in the sector to emphasise cleanliness, sustainability and safety to meet visitors' expectations.
"Show the warmth of Sibu residents to customers so that they truly feel special and appreciated, (and) will definitely come back.
"To the young people of Sibu, use your creativity and digital skills to become digital tourism ambassadors.
"Today, short videos, pictures and comments on social media are among the most effective and accessible promotional techniques anywhere. Let's raise Sibu in the eyes of the world," he said.
Chiew said Sarawak achieved a good tourism performance with 4.83 million visitor arrivals in 2024 and tourism revenue reaching RM12.45bil, a significant increase from 2023.
At the national level, Malaysia also recorded an encouraging performance with more than 37 million international visitor arrivals in 2024, he added.
This positive momentum continued last year, he added, with 28,242,804 international visitor arrivals recorded from January to August.
"Based on this achievement, I am confident that we can build a strong tourism identity for Malaysia, Sarawak and Sibu in particular, not only to attract local visitors but also the international market, thus achieving the target of over 40 million international visitors set for VM2026," he said.
During the Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) New Year 2026 Countdown at the town square, its chairman Clarence Ting said that despite the many challenges, last year was one of progress and achievements for Sibu.
"Through strong partnerships between SMC and the community, we continued to improve services, infrastructure and support for our people.
"The council remains committed to serving with integrity, innovation and compassion and to strengthening resilience as we work towards a liveable, sustainable and inclusive city.
"As we step into 2026, SMC will continue to focus on good governance, better services, smart and sustainable development, climate resilience and people-centred growth guided by our vision, 'Towards a Liveable and Sustainable City by 2031'," he said.
