By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, March 11: Lacking the facilities to host A-list pop star concerts, Sarawak will focus on its niche market of ethnic music festivals, says Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Art Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Acknowledging that world-class concerts such as Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour’ are an effective means of attracting tourists and thus generate a massive spin-off, Abdul Karim poignantly pointed out the lack of necessary infrastructure and facilities in Sarawak to hold these concerts.
“We have got to be practical (to know) whether we have the right facilities or the right connectivity. We are living on an island. We rely on flights. We rely on ships. Practically, we don’t have that kind of tourists coming through ships (or) cruise ships. We lack the facilities,” said Abdul Karim at the Launch of DayakDaily’s D’Drift 2024 themed ‘The Baram Rendezvous’ at the DayakDaily office today.
He acknowledged that while Singapore has all the necessary facilities for world-class concerts and was successful in raking in notable revenue by playing host to Taylor Swift’s concert, it, however, did not mean that Sarawak must follow suit.
To him, Sarawak’s Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), which is in its 27th year and other music festivals, such as the Borneo Jazz Festival, is gaining traction.
“Actually, for RWMF, we have reached full capacity. We cannot enlarge it anymore unless Sarawak Cultural Village is willing to dismantle some of its buildings so that we can have a bigger space for the crowds.
“It (SCV) can only accommodate about 10,000 (visitors) per night, probably another 2,000 per night — 12,000 per night. So that is the maximum. I can vouch that for this year, it (RWMF) will be grander than previous other years because of the line-up of the artists who are going to perform this year,” said Abdul Karim, who added that RWMF, which is classified as ethnic music, has its own huge following, especially among Europeans whose average spending is around RM2,600 daily.
Abdul Karim, who is also Sarawak’s Youth and Sports Minister, pointed out that apart from Singapore, Coplay’s concert in the Philippines was also sold out. This was not surprising, as even when Sarawak was organising a K-pop concert, substantial visitors travelled all the way from Indonesia just to attend the concert.
“I know there is a market for it, but then, we have to be practical; we might not have the facilities as yet.
“To be to that level, probably ten or fifteen years from now, when we have got a better flight (system) and we have got better facilities, we might be able to go up to that level,” said Abdul Karim. — DayakDaily
