4 days ago
Sarawak records over RM1bil per month in tourism receipts from January to June this year
State Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah launching the WAK Festival calendar reveal on Wednesday (Aug 13). - ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star
KUCHING: Sarawak has recorded tourism receipts exceeding RM1bil every month from January to June this year, says Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The state Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister said this was the best performance achieved by the tourism industry so far.
"Tourism receipts include spending on hotels, restaurants, transport, crafts and related expenditure.
"In other words, it's the money going into the industry, not just in Kuching but other parts of Sarawak," he said at the calendar reveal of the WAK Festival here on Wednesday (Aug 13).
Abdul Karim said the tourism receipts reflected the high numbers of visitors coming to Sarawak in the first half of the year.
He said Sarawak was well on track to hit its target of five million visitors this year, having received 2.4mil up to June.
"We are looking at 500,000 visitors a month from July onwards, so I'm confident we can reach our target," he said.
Abdul Karim said events like the WAK Festival were among the contributing factors attracting tourists to Sarawak.
He said the festival, which runs throughout October, had grown from its humble beginnings in 2017, expanding from Kuching to Sibu and Miri last year.
"What I love about WAK is that it comes from the community, for the community.
"October, which used to be a quiet time, has now turned into an interesting month with a lot of events," he said.
Festival director Donald Tan said the WAK acronym was evolving into a new identity this year following the festival's expansion to Sibu and Miri.
"WAK used to stand for What About Kuching. We've decided to position ourselves as the WAK Festival which now stands for We Are Kindred," he said.
Tan said this year's festival was themed "Roots" to celebrate Sarawak's cultural and historical roots.
"It reminds us to honour our shared past even as we grow new connections that branch outward, nurturing fresh collaborations that breathe life into our city's creative landscape," he said.
The festival will feature 49 collaborators, 67 unique events and 369 daily activities spread across 44 venues in and around Kuching.
Crafts, food and music events are among the highlights.
"We want to take creative and artistic activities to street level to engage with the community," Tan said.
