SIBU: The government is looking into strengthening Sibu’s air connectivity to allow more flights into Sarawak’s central region, said Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youths and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
However, he added, that there are many matters that need to be taken into consideration.
Abdul Karim was responding to Sibu MP Oscar Ling’s call for Sibu to open its sky for more flights if it was serious about promoting tourism.
Ling had said without more flights, the dream of attracting more visitors to the town could not be realised, while adding Lanang MP Alice Lau and himself had raised the issue of Sibu air fares in Parliament.
He made these remarks when speaking at the opening of the Chinese cultural stage at the Borneo Cultural Festival (BCF) last Saturday night.
In response to this, Abdul Karim said: “This matter is being looked into. Getting airlines to create a new sector is easier said than done.
“Many matters need to be looked into including flight loading, local tourism products and the handling facilities at the airport.
“No airline would want to operate at a loss. Maybe Oscar and Alice should bring this matter up to Putrajaya because approval for flights from overseas and domestic destinations need to be sanctioned by Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and Putrajaya too.”
On the BCF, Oscar had said it had successfully drawn in the crowd but still lacked foreign visitors.
On this, Abdul Karim, who is Asajaya assemblyman said: “I do agree that local visitors are more than foreign visitors at BCF but that is expected. Large numbers of local visitors do visit BCF and they help in making the place alive as well.
“I believe those doing sales at BCF are happy or else they won’t be there every year selling and showing their products. Local visitors from Kapit, Miri, Bintulu, Kuching do come in flocks and we must acknowledge that they are tourists too. Tourists need not be just Caucasians or from Singapore or mainland China.”
For the record, BCF was first staged in 2002 to showcase a myriad of colourful cultures, heritage and the diverse ethnicity of Sarawak.
It was reported that last year’s BCF from July 20 to 29, attracted some 600,000 visitors, while in 2016 the figure was over 500,000. -TheBorneoPost
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