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BOGOR, Aug 22: Malaysia recorded an encouraging influx of 4.5 million tourists in the first quarter of this year, mostly from ASEAN countries.
Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts (MTCP) Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the progress has enabled the nation to stay on course in achieving its target of 16.1 million tourist arrivals.
He said this when officiating at the opening ceremony of International Conference on Responsible Tourism and Hospitality (ICRTH) 2023 held at IPB International Convention Center (IICC) in Bogor, Indonesia yesterday (Aug 21).
Themed “Reviving Tourism through Green Investments” and “Sustaining Tourism through Cultural Heritage Conservation”, the conference held from Aug 21 to 25 aims to advance the discourse on responsible tourism for sustainable development.
Abdul Karim noted that ICRTH first started in 2021, under a collaboration between the Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (now known as MTCP); the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, UCSI University; Sarawak Research Society; and Emerald Publishing.
At that time, the world was in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore, the conference was held virtually and attracted more than 3,000 delegates from more than 90 countries.
In 2022, ICRTH was held in Kuching, Sarawak using a hybrid approach where it welcomed 280 delegates from more than 20 countries, including esteemed guests from United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
“I had the pleasure of meeting many notable figures during the conference (2022) and at my office last year.
“I like to make special mention of Professor Yanto (Prof Dr Ir Yanto Santosa) and Ibu Arzyana (Assoc Prof Dr Arzyana Sunkar) who expressed the intention of IPB University to host ICRTH in Bogor in 2023. The rest is history and this is why we are here today,” he added. — DayakDaily
