By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Oct 3: Sarawak’s tourism industry has shown a strong performance in 2025, generating over RM1 billion a month in tourism receipts from January to August despite fierce regional competition.
According to Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister, Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, this milestone comes as Sarawak sets its sights on achieving five million visitor arrivals by the end of the year.
“We have never reached five million visitors before, but we should be able to this year,” he said during his welcoming speech at the launch of Lions International Journey of Service 4.0 at a hotel here on Thursday night (Oct 2).
Abdul Karim acknowledged it will be quite challenging, especially when countries across the region are aggressively promoting their destinations and investing heavily in tourism.
“Even if we don’t quite reach the five million mark, I’m still very happy because what matters is the remarkable growth in tourism receipts. This is the first time we’ve seen figures exceeding RM1 billion every month,” he said.
Calling it an intense competition, he is optimistic that despite the competitive landscape, Sarawak’s tourism sector is experiencing encouraging momentum.
It is also driven by a packed calendar of events, including major sports and cultural programmes since January and continuously until December.
“Most importantly, the revenue generated does not go directly into government coffers but flows into the industry, benefiting hotels, food and beverage outlets, tour operators and other service providers.
“With continuous efforts in destination promotion and event hosting, we remain confident in Sarawak’s ability to grow its tourism footprint and drive greater economic benefits for the State,” he added, pointing out that Sarawak welcomed 4.8 million tourists in 2024.
Meanwhile, Abdul Karim lauded the efforts of Lions International for selecting Sarawak as the host destination for its Journey of Service (JOS) 4.0 initiative, underscoring Sarawak’s growing appeal not only as a tourism destination but also as a platform for international collaboration and community service.
The initiative has brought together 138 Lions members from seven countries, namely the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Japan, and Malaysia, for the five-day programme starting Oct 2.
This year’s JOS 4.0 project includes eye screening and 100 pairs of free glasses for needy students from two primary schools, namely SK St Alban and SK Sungai Stutong, sponsored by Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap, the cleaning and painting of the Lion’s Nursing Home in Kuching, and the refurbishment of the public bus stop in Serian.
The team also went as far as Sri Aman and Linga to give groceries for 100 needy families, school bags and stationery sets for 100 needy students, and supplied the Lingga community hall with 10 wall fans, 10 round tables, and 100 plastic chairs.
Together with the Sarawak Forest Department, the JOS 4.0 journey also saw 500 trees planted in the Sabal Forest Reserve in Simunjan. — DayakDaily
