AFTER seeing a drop of 13.27% in tourist arrivals this year, Sarawak tourism leaders are embarking on a new campaign aimed at luring five million visitors in 2019.

State Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Abdul Karim Hamzah told the state assembly today that in the first nine months of the year, tourist arrivals clocked in at 3,230,201.

He said there was a 25.94% drop in visitors from Brunei, Indonesia (21.86%) and the Philippines (16.74%), with these countries being among the top five nations contributing to the state’s tourist arrivals.

The only increase recorded was in the number of tourists from China (15.78%) and Singapore (10.84%).

On the China figure, Karim said it was due to the Kuching-Shenzhen direct flight and marketing campaigns carried out in that country, while Singaporeans were offered 600 seats daily by Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and the Scoot low-cost carrier.

“Based on the performance and trend recorded in the past few months, in terms of tourist arrivals, my ministry is expecting five million visitors and RM8.05 billion in tourism receipts (for next year).

“With the launch of the Visit Sarawak Campaign 2019, my ministry will be proactive in our efforts to position Sarawak as a premier tourism destination.”

The campaign kicked off with a soft-launch teaser for trade and tourism industry players in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and London. It will be launched in Shenzhen next month.

Karim said the official launch of the campaign in Sarawak will be held in conjunction with the New Year countdown on December 31 at the Kuching waterfront.

Another expanding sector is medical tourism, he said.

He said last year, Sarawak recorded 44,700 foreign patients, who brought in receipts totalling RM60.7 million.

“From January to September this year, there were 33,400 such visitors, generating a total of RM42.4 million in receipts.”

He said the majority of “medical tourists” in Sarawak were from Jakarta and Pontianak, Indonesia.

“Medical tourism gives lucrative opportunities to local private hospitals and medical professionals, while also benefiting the tourism industry.

“Due to the high rate of the Singapore dollar, most Indonesian patients prefer Sarawak.”

He said his ministry has established a medical tourism coordination committee, which will collaborate with hospitals, the relevant agencies and Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) to ensure the success of the state’s medical tourism industry.

He said MHTC will roll out the eVisa system to facilitate the entry of “medical visitors” in the first quarter of next year. – November 12, 2018.