By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Aug 8: The Kuching South City Council (MBKS) remains determined to draw over one million visitors to this year’s Kuching Festival Fair 2025, matching the impressive milestone achieved in the past two years.
With the current estimates of attendance between 600,000 and 700,000 visitors, MBKS Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng said that the council is banking on a strong turnout in the festival’s final week to close the gap.
Wee had also hoped to hit a record-breaking single-day attendance of more than 100,000 visitors, with last Saturday’s “Zumba with 10,000 participants” event pushing the crowd count to around 96,000 to 97,000 people, just shy of the mark.
“Although we missed it by a few thousand, I still believe we can reach our overall target this year,” he said during his ShallWeeTalk live session today.
Wee acknowledged that surpassing the previous years’ figures may be challenging, citing factors such as hot weather, sudden night rain, and the effects of the current economic slowdown.
“Nonetheless, I hope that the million-visitor milestone is still within reach,” he said.
He also stated that MBKS has no plans yet to extend the festival beyond its current 24-day run due to the extensive preparation, staffing, and logistical demands involved.
“Our staff, including department heads, are on the ground daily to ensure everything runs smoothly. The preparation alone takes five to six months, from stall bidding, setup, activities and programmes arrangements to coordinating international participants, all of which require significant manpower,” he added. — DayakDaily
