| Azlan Othman |

VISITORS from Brunei Darussalam topped the arrivals to Sarawak in the first quarter of this year (January-March) with 304,823 visitors, making the Sultanate the main source of visitors to the neighbouring state; followed by visitors from Indonesia (94,303); the Philippines (14,419); China (9,983); and Singapore (9,024).

This was said by Sarawak Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah on Monday, according to Malaysian news reports.

Visitor arrivals to Sarawak showed an increase of 3.93 per cent for the first quarter of this year, when compared to the same corresponding period in 2018.

With the launch of the Visit Sarawak Campaign (VSC) on December 31, 2018, Datuk Abdul Karim said that the ministry expects a continuous growth in visitor arrivals, especially during the coming mid-year peak season.

“We expect to receive five million visitor arrivals in 2019 and RM8.18 billion in tourism receipts,” he said.

In addition, Datuk Abdul Karim pointed out that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, together with the Sarawak Tourism Board and other agencies, will step up their efforts to position Sarawak as a premier tourism destination.

Citing the China market as an example, he said that his ministry has carried out initiatives to enhance the development of this sector in the first quarter of 2019.