Sarawak Tourism Board Engages with The Industry

Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) has just concluded its series of roadshows in the major towns of Kuching, Miri and Sibu. As part of Sarawak Tourism Board’s transformation and continuous improvement, the engagement with the industry is a major part of this exercise.

In the words of Dato Rashid Khan, Chief Executive Officer, STB, “In order to have a vibrant and viable tourism industry, it is important to have joint collaboration and partnership between the Board and industry players. As STB is the official State destination marketing agency, entrusted to promote the state as the preferred destination, the plans and implementation programs covers a wide variety of destination marketing initiatives which should deliver breakthrough results.” He went on to say that the Board would concentrate on programs that would bring maximum impact, must create value and value add to our tourism stakeholders, bring benefit to tourism private sector and that will change perception and behavior of visitors to the state.

He also said that domestic tourism should be given priority as up to Oct this year, domestic arrivals increased by 19.5% when compared to the corresponding period last year. Foreign arrivals however declined by 8.7%. The increase in domestic arrivals has definitely assisted in this upward trend of 1.4% in total arrivals. This is considered an improvement from a negative growth in the past 2 years. The entry of Firefly into Sarawak in January should also boost domestic tourism.

However, international tourism should not take a backseat as the commencement of flights from North Asia ie Japan & Korea should be supported in order for them to be sustained. The reinstatement of Air Asia’s Singapore/Miri route should also augur well for the industry and the initiative of Sarawak Tourism Board’s 8-month Singapore Integrated Packages (SIP) campaign which commenced in October needs the industry’s support in order for it to be successful.

At these engagement sessions, IntellSoft also did a presentation on its Travel Portal. The company has been engaged by STB Leisure & Properties, a subsidiary of STB to set up this portal for the benefit of industry members. This portal performs the service of the likes of sites like Agoda, where tourist will be able to book online to secure their tours or accommodation. Dato Rashid urged industry members to utilize this facility provided by the Board.