MIRI: American, European and Asian tourists are visiting Sarawak by the planeloads, sparking off a tourism boom in the Land of the Hornbills.
Tourist arrivals from the United States and Western Europe have gone up by a third, said Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) executive officer Gracie Geikie.
The board’s latest statistics showed that Sarawak is now enjoying a major tourism revival, following flight connectivity woes in 2006 and early last year that had almost derailed the industry.
“Our international tourism business is back on track. Not only have we regained lost customers, we have also uncovered new markets,” said Geikie.
“We have tourists coming from Poland, Russia, India, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and Scandinavian countries; places which are new for us,†she said, adding that the state expected to hit 3.8 million tourist arrivals this year compared to 3.61 million last year.
Geikie said foreign tourists were getting increasingly drawn to Sarawak not just because of the natural beauty and wonders of the state, but also because of the food, culture and the music festivals.
She said the renowned World Rainforest Music Festival in Kuching and the jazz festival in Miri have become favoured musical destinations.
“The Miri jazz festival is fast becoming popular with global music lovers. Since we opened online ticket sales, more than 2,000 tickets have been snapped up by tourists – both local and from the Netherlands, Australia, Britain and Singapore.
“The World Rainforest Music Festival is already in the list of top 10 global music festivals. We hope the Miri festival can be just as successful,†Geikie added.
