The Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) and Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), starting off a three-year partnership aimed at promoting tourism in Sarawak. 

STB and MAG intend to work together on projects that will strengthen collaboration and boost the country’s tourism industry, especially by drawing in foreign visitors. The Memorandum of Understanding also restated the state government’s commitment to promoting Sarawak as a top vacation destination worldwide. 

Sharzede Salleh Askor, the chief executive officer of STB, signed on behalf of the company, while Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi, the CEO of MAG Airlines, represented the company. 

According to Dato Sri Abdu Karim, the combined efforts aim to strengthen and cooperate with both parties’ existing tourism marketing initiatives, with the goal of drawing more than 35.6 million tourists to Malaysia by 2026.

Speaking about the partnership, Dato Sebastian Ting, Deputy Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts minister, said, “This MoU addresses a key area in our pursuit to promote tourism in Sarawak. It aims to jointly explore and implement activities using services by MAG for mutual benefit.” 

Meanwhile, Dato Sri Abdul Karim, Creative Industry and Performing Arts minister, stated, “This partnership aligns seamlessly with our ambitious goal for Visit Malaysia Year 2026. With this MoU, we are embarking on a journey to explore and implement various activities designed to promote tourism to Sarawak. Using the services and reach of Malaysia Airlines, we will develop and execute these initiatives on an annual basis, ensuring they are continually reviewed and refined. This partnership represents a strategic and forward-thinking approach to achieving our tourism objectives, enhancing our global appeal, and firmly positioning Sarawak as a top destination for travellers worldwide.” 

Furthermore, Sharzede Salleh Askor, said, “We also have trade fairs and consumer shows that we are working with as well as collaboration with airlines to bring in key opinion leaders (KOLs), familiarisation trips and so forth. Our domestic sales are still in good numbers, but we are very happy that the reach is further this year where we will also have visitors from all 10 Asean member countries including Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia. The numbers are picking up and we are confident of a very good show with a good number of turnouts at RWMF 2024.”