TravTalk Middle East Online Magazine
Sharzede Salleh Askor, Chief Executive Officer, Sarawak Tourism Board shares their latest campaign where visitors can experience Sarawak, located on the Northwest coast of Malaysia, through the five-pillar strategy Culture, Adventure, Nature, Food and Festival in an exclusive interview with TRAVTALK.
Shehara Rizly
Give us a brief about Sarawak tourism?
Sarawak is home to one of the largest rainforests in the world with 27 ethnic groups living harmoniously against a backdrop of age-old heritage and elements of modernity, a destination where the distinctiveness of its culture, adventure, nature, food and festival is unlike anywhere else. Our total population is 2.9 million as of 2020, and being the biggest state in Malaysia, it is a comfortable population density for its people to enjoy the quality of life, and for our visitors to have a satisfactory and stress-free travel experience without overcrowding. Our geographical landscape and impressive biodiversity are always the main attraction to visitors all over the world. Our visitors can experience Sarawak through the five pillars of Sarawak Tourism – CANFF.
Sarawak is blessed with bountiful green treasures waiting to be explored and it is our duty to continue to protect and conserve its diverse ecosystem so we are able to preserve it for future generations to come. The STB’s efforts in promoting responsible tourism echoes the Sarawak State Government’s agenda of making Environmental Sustainability as one of the main pillars in Sarawak Economic Action Council (SEAC) under its Post-COVID-19 Development Strategy 2030. STB is determined to making RT an integral part of all our tourism practices. As a sign of our commitment to build a mindset among industry players and visitors alike, in November 2021, about 200 players from Sarawak’s tourism industry took a Responsible Tourism pledge, committing to reduce their environmental footprint, support local communities, and protect culture and heritage
Sarawak entails all interesting natural areas in Malaysia and the rich culture, so could you share more details on which areas you will focus on?
Our visitors can experience Sarawak through the five pillars of Sarawak Tourism – CANFF.
Culture: Sarawak’s cultural diversity allows visitors to have an authentic experience with the locals. For example, staying in homestays in rural areas and sampling their food, and taking part in their cultural celebrations.
Adventure: The perfect place for adventure lovers as you can do many activities such as biking, caving and trekking among others.
Nature: For the pandemic fatigue — to go back to nature for healing, a great spot for birding, a haven for nature lovers.
Food: Sarawak is a destination of gastronomic abundance due to the diversity of cultures, bringing together so many different flavors for everyone to enjoy.
Festivals: Our iconic Rainforest World Music Festival and Borneo Jazz Festival are the most anticipated by visitors.
Last year, in 2021, we held the RWMF Virtual Experience where about 402,865 online viewers tuned in from 79 countries. The Borneo Jazz: A Virtual Journey 2021 was watched online by 244,637 viewers from 43 countries.
As we embark on the almost post COVID-19 era, what are the initiatives or new tourism strategies to re-introduce this destination to the ME travelers?
STB will pro-actively participate in the marketing activities by Tourism Malaysia in this region. Among the trade marketing events are such as Arabian Travel Market, Dubai (May 2022) and Post-ATM Engagement, Dubai (May 2022).
How will you proactively promote this destination among agents?
By continuing to engage and collaborate with the industry partners in the Middle East. Provide marketing support to the industry partners in the Middle East and by supporting the marketing initiatives by Tourism Malaysia.
If the destination opens what will be the rules/regulations to be followed? Will it be quarantine-free PCR tests/vaccinated travelers what will be the procedure?
As per other countries, Malaysia has the SOPs for international travelers, which are as follows (the most latest): For oversea travellers entering Sarawak:
FULLY VACCINATED: Seven-Day Quarantine (RT-PCR Test Day 5), Risk Assessment on the last day of quarantine (Quarantine order may be extended if symptoms arise).
PARTIAL / NON-VACCINATED: 10-Day Quarantine ((RT-PCR Test Day 8), Risk Assessment on the last day may be extended if symptoms arise) Take note that all overseas travellers must undergo the RT-PCR Test two days before departure (two days validity).
Other requirements for Non-Malaysians: My TravelPass approval, RT-PCR Test upon arrival at First Point of Entry,
Home Quarantine is NOT ALLOWED.
A travel ban is currently on against: Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi.To further details on travellers’ SOPs, please check Sarawak’s State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) website – https://sarawakdisastermc.com/ Note: For reference on the SOP
Any guidelines about obtaining visa for ME travelers?
Holders of passports from the Middle East are granted visa-free entry to Malaysia for 90 days. However, due to COVID-19, all foreigners are still banned from entering Malaysia until further notice. At present, visa issuance is still suspended and any individual traveling to Malaysia still have to get a specific approval from
the Malaysia Immigration Department before obtaining a visa.
Week 13 at the Dubai Expo is aptly named as “Ecotourism Week”, so what is STB’s insight on this?
STB’s participation in Dubai Expo is a golden opportunity to put Sarawak at visitors’ top of mind when it comes to eco-tourism and responsible tourism in the ASEAN region. STB aims to strengthen Sarawak’s visibility worldwide and to showcase as the leading and preferred ecotourism destination.
When it comes to Sustainability and Responsible Tourism (RT), can you elaborate on STB’s efforts in promoting RT?
Responsible tourism is about making a positive impact on the places that we visit – by being responsible for the environment; people as well as tangible and intangible heritage. It means creating awareness and helping in the conservation of old monuments. The STB highlights three UN Sustainable Development Goals which are Quality Education (SDG 4), Responsible Consumption and Production (SGD 12), and Partnerships for the Goals (SGD 17). The STB has taken various steps to create a sustainable tourism industry since 2011. Our tourism players adapt eco-friendly practices in their tourism products such as encouraging bicycle rides in rural areas or enjoy birdwatching in Sarawak’s rainforests.
We promote homestays, encourage consumption of local food, and highlight local handicrafts and arts. Such community-based tourism can be found in areas such as Nanga Sumpa in Batang Ai where travellers can gain an insight into the lifestyle of the various tribes of Sarawak. These efforts can generate economy for its residents. Sarawak’s biggest orangutan rehabilitation centre, Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, is a sanctuary for the conservation of the orangutans in their natural habitat. The STB takes environmental issues seriously and together with tourism players, we embark on activities such as waste management. We encourage tourism players in Sarawak to participate in initiatives such as banning of single use plastics, upcycling used materials and exploring innovative solutions to waste management. These initiatives include the hotel industry turning food waste into compost or rural homestays operators converting used oil into soap products.
What are the STB’s significant achievements in 2021?
STB’s efforts in promoting RT has been recognised by WTM Responsible Tourism Awards 2021 in which our Rainforest World Music Festival and Borneo Jazz Festival virtual experiences were named as ‘One to Watch”. The awards acknowledges excellence in RT and selected these festivals in the in the Destinations Building Back Better Post-COVID-19 category.
We are proud to say that the City of Kuching has recently been included as one of the 49 new cities under UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN) under the field of gastronomy. We invite foodies everywhere to experience our food culture and feast on Sarawak’s gastronomic abundance.
