KUCHING: Travel agents in the state have been taken to task for not being serious in promoting Sarawak tourism products to the world.
Expressing his disappointment Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit observed that not many travel agents in the state participated in international conferences, for instance, to promote the state.
Dawos, who is also Mambong MP said, “In November last year, no travel agent from Sarawak took part in a conference in Australia to promote Sarawak.
“The same happened when I went to India early this year. A coordinator asked me about going to Sarawak, but where are the travel agents from Sarawak?” he lamented during a press conference after launching the state-level ‘Karnival Perlancongan Tarian Cuti-Cuti 1Malaysia 2012’ at the Hockey Stadium here yesterday.
Dawos stated that due to the lack of seriousness in promoting the state, most foreign tourists flocked to the peninsula and Sabah instead.
“If no travel agents (from Sarawak) follow delegations, there is nothing much we can do because I cannot sign an agreement with them. All I can do is to only recommend them to visit Sarawak.”
Dawos said there was no problem between the state and federal tourism ministries. In fact, both parties were working closely together to promote the state.
He added that in the first 10 months of this year, a total of 3.2 million tourists visited the state, and out of this 2.1 million were from Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei.
Continue reading at: Wake-up call for Sarawak travel agents
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