Tourism spots coming back to life, says Abdul Karim

Abdul Karim (standing, fifth left) together with Nancy (standing, sixth left) and others posing for a photo at the event. – Photo by Mohd Rais Sanusi.

KUCHING: Tourism spots here are coming back to life with more people frequenting these places after the Movement Control Order (MCO) as life slowly returns to normal.

Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said when the tourism sector slowly reopened, many people were keen to go out after staying home for three months during the MCO.

“Sematan, Telok Melano – the roads are jammed. This shows that locals are going out after staying home for three months. I believe that resorts and homestays will return back to normal,” he told reporters when met on Saturday at the launching of discounted rates for Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV).

To further boost the tourism sector, the state government are offering discounted rates for visitors at places that do charge for entry including SCV, and the discount will be available until year end, he said.

The same will be done for museums once they reopen later, he added.

“We hope more locals will visit these attractions with their family,” he said.

When asked on tourist arrival target, Abdul Karim said that it was set at 5 million but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the numbers dropped starting February to May, especially when there were no flights allowed.

However, January did record a 17 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, he said.

Meanwhile, he said programmes and activities planned by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Sarawak Tourism Board for the remainder of the year would be reevaluated on which will still go on, or held in a smaller scale to ensure there’s still some attraction for tourists.

“We want from now until the year end to have some entertainment than having none,” Abdul Karim added.

Present at the event were federal Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) Dato Sri Nancy Shukri, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Hii Chang Kee, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain and SCV general manager Jane Lian Labang.

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