KUCHING: Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah was sad but respected the decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) made yesterday in London to take away the hosting right of Kuching, Sarawak for the 2019 World Para Swimming Tournament slated for July 29 to Aug 4 2019.
“We are sad that IPC has to come to this decision. The Sarawak and Kuching City as host city respect this decision which was made pursuant to Malaysia barring the entry and participation of Israel athletes into Malaysia.
“I know that flight and accomodation bookings have been done and a lot of efforts have been put in place to make this international para swimming meet a successful one,” he said.
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| Visit Sarawak Campaign |
The decision to bar entry of Isrealis was a national foreign policy of Malaysia which Sarawak as a state within Malaysia has to respect, he stressed.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Hotels Association Sarawak chief Ibrahim Nordin is in the midst of ascertaing potential losses made by hotels due to the cancellation of room bookings.
Ibrahim said the official occupancy report of three hotels picked at random in the city suggested that approximately 2,600 nights were already “blocked”.
“I was told other hotels had also dates (nights) been blocked. We would encountered a four per cent dropin business as compared to previous year (due to the tournament cancellation),” he said adding that currently he could not provide an exact figure of potential loss in profits.
The two main airlines – Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia – are also in the midst in ascertaining potential loss in profits. -TheBorneoPost
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