KUCHING, 5 April 2022: Sarawak embraced its first batch of international travellers to Kuching from Singapore on Sunday, marking a vital step forward in transitioning to endemicity after almost two years of stringent borders controls to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Deputy Minister of Tourism Datuk Sebastian Ting was on hand to greet the 157 passengers who arrived aboard Scoot Airlines with the ministry’s permanent secretary Hii Chang Kee and Sarawak Tourism Board’s deputy chief executive officer Suriya Charles Buas.
“This is the day we have all been waiting for. The resumption of international travellers to Sarawak is an important step to give Sarawak’s tourism industry the boost it needs. It is great progress and an opportune time to ramp up our marketing efforts in promoting Sarawak as a safe, and prime eco-tourism destination and also build traveller’s confidence to come to Sarawak,” Datuk Sebastian Ting said.
“We will continue to work closely with the airline industry to increase the accessibility and connectivity for visitors to enter Sarawak without much hassle. We hope to see more direct domestic, regional and international flights to Sarawak soon as this is the right track to promote more investors to the state, which is in line with our Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030,” he added.
Of the 157 passengers, 65 were transiting through Singapore. A total of 96 passengers will be departing from Kuching to Singapore on the return flight.
Effective 1 April 2022, travellers will no longer be required to apply to enter Sarawak or fill in the e-Health Declaration Form (eHDF).
Malaysian and non-Malaysians who are arriving from Singapore by air will no longer have to take RTK-Antigen tests upon arrival in Sarawak. However, they will be required to have proof of their vaccination certificate, a negative RT-PCR test result (taken two days before departure); download the MySejahtera app and fill in the pre-departure form under the ‘Traveller Icon’; and Covid-19 travel insurance (non-Malaysians).
For more information about Sarawak, log on to Sarawak Tourism Board’s website: https://sarawaktourism.com.
(Your Stories: Sarawak Tourism Board)
