TOURISM from Singapore to Sarawak hit rock-bottom last year, with only 182 people entering the state from the island republic last year, according to the Immigration Department.

To pour salt into the wounds, government figures further show that the majority of these arrivals were diplomats who came to observe the state election in December.

However, the state is confident it can once again attract tourists from Singapore, based on previous numbers, which showed 2.38% average growth of visitors from the island republic between 2016 and 2019.

In year-on-year growth, in 2017 it was 4.89% from 40,209 visitors in 2016 to 42,177.

In 2018, growth was a little lower at 3.69% (43,734 arrivals), but it shot up to 7.04% (48,312) the following year.

The Covid-19 pandemic meant that arrivals plummeted 84.3% to a little more than 7,000 visitors in 2020, dwindling further to just 182 last year, according to the department’s figures obtained by The Malaysian Insight.

Yesterday, state Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Abdul Karim Hamzah said Sarawak will again market itself “aggressively” in Singapore.

“We are going back to promote ourselves aggressively in Singapore,” he said at Kuching International Airport, where he welcomed the first flight from Changi post-lockdown.

Karim said the resumption of international flights to Sarawak comes at the right time for both tourists and locals in Sarawak.

The country’s borders have reopened, travel restrictions have greatly eased and 90% of the pre-pandemic flight frequencies have been reinstated.

The Singapore dollar is also strong against the Malaysian ringgit, which make it attractive for tourists from the city-state to visit Sarawak.

According to official figures, the majority of Singaporeans coming to Sarawak in 2018 were “youth travellers” whose average length of stay was three days, with an average spend of RM2,450.

More than 76% of them came for holidays or visiting friends and relatives, the ministry’s information showed.

The Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) said, based on its Singapore market research conducted in 2021, that holidaymakers came for local food first and foremost, followed by beach tours, sunset and mangrove tours, wildlife tours, a visit to a national park, and a hike in the rainforest or up the mountains.

STB said visitors from the republic liked to “immerse (themselves) in local culture and explore the lifestyle.

The market is so important to Sarawak that in 2019 it opened a trade and tourism office in Singapore.

Meanwhile, Karim said the state will also be promoting and marketing itself in Germany and the Netherlands next month.

Prior to the border closures, there were 6,000 visitors from Germany, and 9,000 visitors from the Benelux countries.

“All these promotions will definitely bring visitors from other parts of the world,” Karim said.

However, he does not expect tourists to immediately jump on planes and fly to Sarawak.

“Confidence in travelling will not be immediate, even though restrictions are easing.”

Sarawak has to date increased its domestic flight frequencies from 562 flights to 615 flights as of April 7. Travellers from the peninsula are now able to take direct flights to the state’s three gateways: Kuching, Miri and Sibu.

Direct flights from Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, Johor Baru, Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi and Kota Baru to Kuching have been reinstated.

Added to which, flights are also available from Kuala Lumpur and Johor to Miri, as are flights from Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru and Penang to Sibu.

Karim said: “There will be many more to come in the near future.”

Sarawak has set a target of 1.2 million arrivals this year. – May 2, 2022.