Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri said nine of the 60 ecotourism clusters that were listed in the National Ecotourism Plan (NEP) 2016-2025 were sited in Sarawak.

“There were a lot of other programmes, but the nine clusters are the ones we are focusing on for Sarawak,” she said after meeting Sarawak Tourism Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah here today.

Nancy said there were several ongoing tourism-related developments in Sarawak and these included the construction of a RM2.15 million heritage trail from Kuching Esplanade to Sungai Bintangor and building eco-tourism facilities at the Santubong National Park at a cost of RM2.97 million.

She also said that RM1.8 million was being spent to develop the ecotourism potential of the Taman Negara Kuching Wetland.

Noting that Sarawak has the most number of national parks in the country, Karim said the state has always looked to leverage on its vast natural offerings to attract tourists.

“(Developing) these (places) are the kind of things we can collaborate with the federal government. We are not promoting ourselves as a shopping destination. If tourists want to experience nature, Sarawak is the place to go,” he said.

Sarawak tourism has taken a huge hit following the Covid 19 pandemic and the ensuing movement control order (MCO).

Karim said he expects a drop of up to 56% in tourist arrivals in the first half of this year.

Sarawak’s total tourist arrivals in 2019 stood at 4.6 million.

While last year’s figures for the state’s tourism receipts are not available, they totalled RM11 billion in 2018.

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