By Malcolm Lau
KUCHING, Dec 10: Sarawak launched its regional Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) this morning, making it the first state in Malaysia to have its own statistical framework to analyse the various economic sectors under the tourism industry.
During the launch of the Sarawak Tourism Satellite Account 2018, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said that the TSA would be very useful for the Sarawak Government as it embarks on developing the 3rd Tourism Master Plan (2020-2035) to position Sarawak as a preferred travel destination.
“It is an honour for Sarawak to be the first pioneer state in Malaysia to have it’s own regional TSA,” said Abdul Karim, who explained that by implementing this TSA, the Ministry of Tourism will be able to measure the goods and services offered by the various economic sectors under the tourism industry based on international standards, concepts and classifications.
“With this TSA as a powerful statistical tool, Sarawak Government and tourism industry will be able to get credible data to develop new effective strategies and policies to bring in vast economic benefits such as employment opportunities and income growth, apart from capturing visitor’s information in extensive detail,” Abdul Karim said.
Sarawak will continue to work with the Department of Statistics Malaysia to ensure regular updates on the TSA.
“Sarawak Government and tourism industry players can benefit from this useful TSA for our strategic planning and formulation.”
Abdul Karim added that his ministry was upgrading and providing various tourism statistics to the Sarawak tourism industry so that they could keep on facilitating and improving. —DayakDaily
