Sarawak garners attention at ITB Berlin 2024
KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak is receiving attention on the international stage at the International Tourism Exhibition (ITB) Berlin 2024 during the launch of the transformative campaign ‘Gateway to Borneo’ to strengthen its position as a premier tourist destination. In line with the theme of ITB 2024, ‘Take Travel Technology to the Next Level. Together,’ Sarawak is entering a new era by emphasizing tourism digitization to promote its diverse offerings globally, including culture, adventure, natural beauty, food, and festivals. The campaign adopts a strategic ‘brand refresh’ approach to showcase Sarawak as the main gateway to Borneo Island, encompassing Kalimantan, Sabah, and Brunei.
The campaign aims to enhance Sarawak’s appeal as a leading tourist destination, attracting interest from travelers worldwide to explore and experience the various offerings available in Sarawak. The primary theme of the campaign is the destination logo “Sarawak More to Discover” (SMTD), which has also undergone a ‘brand refresh’ as a strategic marketing approach to position Sarawak as a destination rich in cultural diversity, adventure, natural beauty, food, and festivals. The new SMTD logo reflects the visual of Sarawak’s tropical rainforest, its coastal allure, and the diversity of its ethnic groups.
The logo also features the silhouette of the Rhinoceros hornbill, an iconic symbol of Sarawak known as the “Land of the Hornbills.” According to Sarawak’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah: “We are proud to launch the evolution of Sarawak’s tourism narrative with the ‘Gateway to Borneo’ campaign. This approach not only highlights geographical differences but also presents contemporary aesthetics and timeless sustainability, aligned with the tastes of international travelers. This strategic step clearly demonstrates Sarawak’s commitment to digitalization, emphasizing and strengthening its position as the gateway to various wonders available in Borneo.”
With a target of four million tourists for 2024, he added: “We invite the world to experience and enjoy the diversity that awaits you in Sarawak, as the ‘Gateway’ to an inspiring new journey and discovery – the awe-inspiring natural beauty and boundless adventure, blending past and new experiences – with the expression ‘So Much More to Discover.'” ITB Berlin also witnessed the Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) signing a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tischler Reisen (TR) to further enhance Sarawak’s position among European tourists. This collaboration aims to showcase various tourism packages both online and offline to attract tourists, especially from European countries.
The increase in European tourists, reaching 121 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, reflects the growing attraction to Sarawak’s tourism products. With a robust achievement of 81.5 percent from the 2019 European tourist arrival figures, 2023 demonstrated the best performance for European tourist arrivals in Sarawak after the pandemic. Therefore, in 2024, Sarawak is highly optimistic about surpassing the 2019 level of European tourist arrivals. Sarawak has also gained momentum in becoming a leader in responsible tourism towards sustainability, with a tourism philosophy prioritizing economic, social, and environmental impacts.
Celebrating its 27th anniversary, the upcoming Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), from June 28 to 30, has the theme ‘Evolution.’ It emphasizes a dynamic world of music that transcends generations and cultures. RWMF 2024 will also weave cultural and environmental aspects through music. This year, RWMF will be further enriched by encouraging millennials to play a role in empowering indigenous voices, expressing conservation aspirations, and preserving the tropical rainforest. Through empowering the younger generation, RWMF 2024 will create space for dialogue, action, and set directions towards sustainability to ensure harmony between culture and the environment for future generations.
Considering the strategies and achievements in promoting responsible tourism approaches and sustainable practices for RWMF, STB recently received international recognition, winning the Best Global PR Campaign Award at the World Communications Forum Award (WCFA) in Davos, Switzerland, showcasing sustainable practices. STB also secured the ‘Nation’s Pride Award’ for ‘Tourism Promotion Excellence’ at the BrandLaureate BestBrands Awards 2023 and two Gold awards, along with the Campaign of the Year Awards at the Malaysia Public Relations Awards (MPRA) 2023.
-Reporter
