Abd Karim speaks at the event. – Photo by Mohd Rais Sanusi
KUCHING: Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri’s appointment as Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture is hoped to uplift tourism, arts and culture in Sarawak
Her counterpart in Sarawak Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the Batang Sadong MP’s appointment would enhance tourism development in the state particularly on tourism promotion, events training, tourism products development and maintenance, tourist guide licensing and syllabus, enforcement for tourist guides, tour bus and development of arts and culture industry.
“Industry players at both federal and state governments are putting concerted efforts to rejuvenate the tourism industry during this Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) period and post Covid-19.
“I believe with concerted effort, concrete plans and focused strategies, Sarawak’s tourism industry can pull through this crisis and emerge stronger to bring Sarawak back to its glory days through the new tagline ‘Rediscover Yourself in Sarawak!’,” he said at a tourism session with the industry players at the Borneo Convention Center Kuching (BCCK) here yesterday.
Abdul Karim said he had on several occasions met with Nancy to explore opportunities to collaborate with her ministry.
He added that by having this dialogue session with the tourism industry players, the federal and state governments could discuss ways to synergise efforts between federal and state ministries and agencies to restore the state’s tourism industry.
Later at a press conference, Abdul Karim said his ministry would continue to work with the federal ministry to boost the tourism industry in Sarawak.
“This is because tourism is not just about building museums and hoping for visitors to come. Instead, it needs other aspects like networking, incentive and others.”
The tourism industry is a big contributor to the state’s gross domestic product, apart from employing a large manpower.