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By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, Aug 22: Kuching Food Festival (KFF) 2023 attracted 1,113,744 visitors over the course of 24 days, firmly establishing the festival as a top-tier event on Sarawak’s calendar.
Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng also disclosed that there were 81,058 visitors on the festival’s ninth day (Aug 5) and 93,986 visitors on its second last day (Aug 19) based on daily visitors per night.
“So, after reopening (KFF) two years after the pandemic, our first year is in 2022, with a record of 1.13 million visitors last year. And this year, we had 1,113,744 visitors.
“So, this means that we broke the 1-million (visitors) mark which was our target. And we broke yet another record. Our highest daily visitor per night was 80,000 last year, and we broke that record on the ninth day with 81,058 this year.
“And on the second last day, which is after the Zumba (Kuching Zumba Fiesta 2023), we broke the record again as we had 93,986 visitors on Aug 19,” he said at a press conference today at the MBKS Council Chamber here.
When asked about the estimated income generated by KFF this year, Wee responded that they have not yet closed the books.
“So, every year, we pump in a few hundred thousand (ringgit) to subsidise because, you see, I think a lot of people just assumed it was the rental income. That is all we have.
“Bear in mind there is a lot of maintenance. Our Rela (People’s Volunteer Corps), our staff’s overtime, and also on all of the water pipes, including canopies.
“So these are the accounts that we are going to close because there are so many events around, so give us a week or so to close all the accounts, and hopefully we can break even this year, as it has been a while since we’ve seen a break-even event, and hopefully in the future it can be self-sustaining,” he explained.
KFF 2023 was held from July 28 until Aug 20 at the MBKS Community Hall compound, boasting 330 food and beverage stalls including the Unesco Creative Cities Network (UCCN) Chef’s Table at the Kuching Creative City pavilion.
The festival also featured familiar rides, games of skills, and garden displays as well as various entertainment stage performances including Chinese traditional music concerts, folk dances, martial art displays, Kuching’s Got Talent, and so on.
Meanwhile, the Indoor Trade Fair featured 100 booths exhibiting a wide variety of products including technology-related items, machinery, fitness equipment, telecommunication devices, furniture, household goods, clothing, accessories and many more. — DayakDaily
