By Amanda L
KUCHING, Oct 20: Sarawak recorded approximately 6.83 million flight searches worldwide between January and September this year, according to Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP) Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Speaking during his ministerial winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUS) complex today, he said that Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) was integrating Global Travel Technology (GTT) data and big data analytics to monitor the State’s destination performance and benchmark it against competing destinations.
The dashboard enables STB to track air connectivity, travel demand, market planning and destination performance.
On its digital marketing performance, Abdul Karim reported that STB recorded more than 400 million impressions in the first nine months of 2026 through collaborations with major online travel and tourism platforms, including Amadeus, Traveloka, Tripadvisor, Tripzilla, Ctrip, Qunar, Skyscanner and Expedia.
This followed the board’s record performance in 2025, when its digital platforms generated more than 644 million impressions.
STB also recorded approximately RM125.9 million in Public Relations Value (PRV) during the first nine months of 2026 through promotional efforts across traditional and digital media.
The media exposure included regional and international publications such as Wanderlust Magazine, BBC Wildlife, National Geographic, Forbes Asia, Going Places, Travel + Leisure, Songlines, Gaya Travel and Palate Magazine.
For the whole of 2025, STB generated approximately RM169.6 million in PRV.
These efforts form part of STB’s Elevation, Diversification, Growth and Empowerment (EDGE) marketing strategy for 2026 to 2030.
From January to September 2026, STB implemented 78 per cent of its 99 planned marketing initiatives, which Abdul Karim associated with an economic impact of RM8.9 billion.
During the same nine-month period, Sarawak recorded 3.52 million visitors and RM9 billion in tourism receipts. —DayakDaily
