Tourism, Arts and Culture Assistant Minister Datuk Sebastian Ting
MIRI (Sept 25): Sarawak is ready to open its borders for tourism with a total of 119 activities and products ready to be implemented, said Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Sebastian Ting.
He said that the ministry had been planning for the various activities and products for this year’s tourism calendar for 18 months but they had to be put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“With Langkawi becoming the first tourism bubble pilot project in the country, we are hopeful that it can be extended to Sarawak.
“As far as the tourism industry and the ministry concerned, we are ready. We have been planning for 18 months for our products and services and I think we are ready now for the tourism sector to open,” he said in an interview here today.
With the relaxation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) in the state which no longer requires incoming travellers to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine, Ting said that this would help to bring in more tourists into Sarawak.
He also pointed out that the Covid-19 vaccination rate in the state has reached 90 per cent for the first and second dose, which justifies Sarawak’s readiness to open its borders for tourism.
“Despite still recording high numbers of Covid-19 positive cases, almost 98 per cent of these cases are in Category 1 or 2. Only a very few percentage are in Category 4 or 5,” he said.
Ting noted that despite the ministry’s readiness to open its borders for tourism, the ultimate decision lies with the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
“Of course, the decision to fully open our borders for tourism depends on SDMC, including the SOP for tourism. It is up to SDMC,” he said.