By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Jan 1: Sarawak is fully supporting the national Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) agenda and is confident that Malaysia can achieve its target of 43 million tourist arrivals this year.
Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the visitor arrival target for Malaysia in 2025 was set at 40 million, with arrivals already reaching 38.3 million as of November.
“For 2026, the target has been increased by three million to 43 million, and InsyaAllah, I think this is quite achievable,” he told reporters when met at Tourism Malaysia’s Welcome Reception held in conjunction with the launch of VM2026 at Kuching International Airport (KIA) today.
He further said although Visit Malaysia is a federal-level programme organised by Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) through Tourism Malaysia, he believes that Sarawak should play its part to support the national agenda.
Earlier, Abdul Karim said VM2026 was officially launched nationwide today, with welcoming events held simultaneously across Malaysia to greet both domestic and international visitors.
“In Sarawak, the celebrations are held at nine locations, including land entry points and airports such as KIA, Miri, Sibu, Bintulu as well as Tebedu, Sungai Tujoh and other checkpoints.
“Similar receptions are also taking place at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and other states,” he added.
He explained that the welcoming receptions aim to create publicity and build excitement at the very start of VM2026, regardless of whether visitors are foreign tourists, domestic travellers or Malaysians returning home.
On Sarawak’s performance, Abdul Karim said the State’s tourism target for 2025 was five million visitors, with arrivals reaching 4.42 million up to November.
“I’m not sure whether we can fully hit the five million mark, but even if we fall slightly short, it is still a strong achievement. For the first 11 months, Sarawak’s tourism receipts have averaged more than RM1 billion per month,” he said.
As for Sarawak’s tourism target in 2026, Abdul Karim said the State would first assess the final 2025 figures before setting a new benchmark.
“If we manage to hit five million, then we will set a new target. If not, we will maintain the five million target because Sarawak has never reached five million visitors before. We are still waiting for the final figures from the Immigration Department,” he continued.
Commenting on the surge in visitors from neighbouring regions during the year-end festivities, Abdul Karim said there was a noticeable increase in arrivals from Indonesia and Brunei, particularly in the days leading up to Dec 31, 2025.
“I monitored arrivals over the last three days, and we saw a very clear surge, especially at ICQS Tebedu, where many Indonesian visitors came for tourism and to celebrate the New Year,” he said.
He attributed the increase partly to cross-border entertainment offerings, including the presence of Indonesian artistes in Sarawak.
“Bringing in performers from Indonesia has yielded results. It is not easy to get artistes like Judika to perform in Pontianak or other cities in West Kalimantan, so when they perform here, people from across the border come over. The same goes for Brunei, especially with celebrations also taking place in Miri,” he said.
Abdul Karim expressed confidence that such attractions would continue to drive cross-border tourism momentum as VM2026 gets underway.
Also present were Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP) permanent secretary Datu Sherrina Hussaini, Tourism Malaysia Sarawak regional director Rubiah Tul’Adwiyah Md Yusof, and Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Sharzede Salleh Askor. – DayakDaily
