By DayakDaily Team
SIBU, Jan 1: Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (Motac) will launch a Midnight Sales programme in collaboration with shopping malls across the country as part of its enhanced efforts to promote cultural tourism in 2025.
Minister Dato Sri Tiong King Sing emphasised that in addition to this, special food promotion packages will be introduced to showcase and promote Malaysian local dishes at shopping malls and other venues.
“We will continue to promote Sarawak as one of the key tourist destinations in the region. The ministry will work closely with the Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) to develop more tourism products that can attract visitors from Asean, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and beyond,” he stated.
He made these remarks during his speech at the Motac with the Community @Sibu event, which marked the New Year’s Eve 2025 celebration at the Azman Hashim Community Sports Centre in Sibu Jaya on Tuesday (Dec 31).
As the Member of Parliament for Bintulu, Tiong reiterated the Madani government’s commitment to prioritising the cultural tourism industry as a means to strengthen the national economy and boost the people’s income.
He highlighted the significant growth in the cultural tourism sector, noting a remarkable increase in both tourist arrivals and tourism spending throughout 2024.
“According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the domestic tourism sector recorded 193.3 million visitors in the first nine months of 2024, compared to 158.7 million in the same period last year.
“This 21.8 per cent increase is accompanied by domestic tourism spending reaching RM77.8 billion, which shows a growth of 27.2 per cent from RM61.2 billion in 2023,” he explained.
He also revealed an impressive surge in foreign tourist arrivals, with 32.2 million international visitors from January to November 2024, compared to 25.9 million during the same period in 2023, reflecting a 31.8 per cent increase.
Tiong also shared that the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 campaign is set to be launched soon.
“This campaign aims to reinforce Malaysia’s position as a premier global tourism destination, and we invite all stakeholders to join us in its success,” he added.
In a report by TVS, thousands of visitors gathered at the Azman Hashim Sports Complex to celebrate the New Year’s Eve event, marking the conclusion of Motac’s inaugural community programme that began on Dec 27.
The event featured performances by renowned Malaysian artistes such as Baby Shima and Bunkface, along with a spectacular fireworks display.
Approximately 100 stalls offered a variety of dishes from the Malay, Iban, and Chinese communities.
Aso present was Bawang Assan assemblyman Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh. — DayakDaily
