By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Sept 5: Sarawak is seeing a drop in tourist arrivals amid the ongoing haze, with visitors likely to continue changing their travel plans until the situation improves.
Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the haze was already affecting tourist arrivals, while also raising concerns over upcoming events across the State.
“If I’m a tourist, if I plan to come to Sarawak at this time or to Kuching, I will change my plan if I am from outside,” he told a press conference held at Waterfront Hotel here today.
He said Sarawak had seen “a little bit of drop” in tourist arrivals lately and expected the decline to continue until the haze subsided.
“I foresee this thing will continue on until after the haze is over,” he said.
Abdul Karim said the situation was also worrying as Sarawak has several events coming up, including the Borderland Music Festival in Kuching and Jom Heboh Carnival in Miri.
“I’m quite worried myself, but there’s nothing much we can do. We’ll just hope and pray that the haze problem will go down,” he added.
He advised event organisers, particularly those planning outdoor programmes, to closely follow the guidance and air quality thresholds set by the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
He said organisers should take the API readings into account, particularly once levels pass 200 and 300, instead of proceeding with events regardless of the air quality.
“Don’t just bulldoze through because the health of the people is also very important in whatever event we organise outside,” he said.
Abdul Karim said events held indoors could generally proceed, but organisers of large outdoor events should consider postponing or cancelling them if API readings become too high.
“If it is in a building, I think it can be carried out. But any large event held outside, if the API is rather high, think first whether to move the date to another date or cancel it altogether,” he said.
The haze situation in Sarawak has deteriorated sharply in recent days, with the Serian Division placed under a state of emergency after its Air Pollutant Index (API) breached the hazardous level of 500 yesterday (Sept 4). The reading reached a peak of 521, while Kuching also recorded a hazardous air quality at 313 that afternoon.
As of 10am today, the Serian Division air quality monitoring station recorded an API reading of 334, a significant drop from 521 recorded yesterday (Sept 4), but still placing the district in the hazardous category.
The severe haze has also prompted the closure of 647 primary and secondary schools in Sarawak from Sept 7 to 11, underscoring the scale of the disruption caused by deteriorating air quality. — DayakDaily
