By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, Nov 30: The 3rd Sarawak Tourism Master Plan 2021-2035 aims to increase the number of visitors to Sarawak from a baseline of 4.6 million visitors and RM11.6 billion in tourism receipts in 2019 to 12.7 million visitors contributing RM50 billion in economic returns by 2035.
Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts (MTCP) Sarawak Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah stated this in his ministerial winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting here today.
“Another significant long-term plan is the 3rd Sarawak Tourism Master Plan 2021-2035, which is timed to coincide with Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 for the tourism sector to spur both immediate and long-term growth recovery from the impact of Covid-19, as well as to introduce new business models and strategies for both the demand and supply sides of the tourism industry.
“The plan aims to increase the number of visitors to Sarawak from a baseline of 4.6 million visitors and RM11.6 billion in tourism receipts in 2019 to 12.7 million visitors contributing economic returns of RM50 billion by 2035. This is in line with the aspirations of the PCDS 2030,” Abdul Karim said.
He revealed his ministry will ensure that the master plan’s policies and plans for tourism, arts, and culture are translated into action plans in stages.
Furthermore, Abdul Karim stated that his ministry, in collaboration with Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), will develop a Regional Tourism Satellite Account (RTSA) exercise for the year 2023, which will be Sarawak’s second RTSA after the first in 2018.
“Given the importance of comprehensive data for State tourism evaluation, effective tourism policy formulation, and tourism development, the RTSA measures state tourism products and services according to international standards, concepts, and classifications.
“The RTSA also indicates the size of tourism’s contribution to the State. A comprehensive RTSA report will enable the State to measure the performance of the tourism industry to drive tourism growth and development in Sarawak,” he added. — DayakDaily
