Recently I was asked to comment by our media friends on the proposed tourism investment zones announced by the right honourable Prime Minister under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) and our Sarawak Government will fully support such efforts but the important thing is that there is no overlap in the undertaking. This is because is the tourism investment zones mentioned shall include areas like Mulu National Park, Niah Caves, the Kuching Geo Delta Park and the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF)…then we are indirectly on the same track.
I have also mentioned that we have not been formally briefed on its implementation and is awaiting clarification from the Federal Government over the proposed special tourism investment zones that would be located in Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Sarawak. The zones are also said to be jointly developed by the respective state governments and private sector in conjunction with Visa Malaysia 2026.
But we are ready to cooperate and I have mentioned that Sarawak’s current tourism strategy had already been proven to be successful, with tourism receipts have exceeded RM1 billion every month with the targeted 5 million visitors had more or less achieved by end of this year. Sarawak on its part had already been actively promoting many of its destinations even without the “imaginary zoning” and we will continue it as part of our state’s current tourism strategy this year.
