KUCHING, 8 April 2022: Keen to rebuild travel bookings from India, Sarawak Tourism Board participated in the virtual ITB India, a three-day business-to-business trade show, earlier this week.
STB, along with local travel and tour operators from the southern, central and northern regions of Sarawak, networked with traders virtually at the Sarawak stand housed in Imperial Hotel, Kuching, from 5 to 7 April 2022 for the duration of the virtual trade show.
STB’s chief executive officer Sharzede Datu Haji Salleh Askor said, “The Indian tourists’ arrivals to Malaysia showed a positive trend with a 15% growth rate pre-pandemic in 2019. India scored 5th place in terms of visitor arrivals to Sarawak, which marks the significance of tapping into the Indian market. In addition, with projections showing that among the 21 million Indians going abroad, more than 25% of these travellers are going out of the country for a holiday.”
“Furthermore, the profiling of the Indian travel market has also indicated that the younger generations are looking for a destination that offers exciting adventures, unique culture and less crowded tourism sites. Sarawak is an ideal eco-escape destination with its vast geographical landscape that spans over 120,000 sq km, and low population density seems to have fulfilled their requirements of an ideal holiday destination,” she added.
ITB India Virtual brings together key travel industry leaders and international exhibitors from various segments of MICE, Leisure, Corporate and TravelTechnology. The B2B virtual event connects the Indian and South Asian travel markets, offering three full days of virtual business appointments and a digital conference programme.
Effective 1 April 2022, international travellers to Sarawak face minimal travel procedures and may no longer need to apply through EnterSarawak or fill in the e-health declaration form but simply download the MySejahtera app and fill in the pre-departure form under the ‘Traveller Icon’ and meet all other requirements set.
More information on the latest Standard Operating Procedure can be downloaded at SDMC’s official website at https://sdmc.sarawak.gov.my/.
(Your Stories: Sarawak Tourism Board)
