Sarawak Tourism Board flaunts new multicoloured look

The Sarawak Tourism Board has unveiled the Visit Sarawak Year logo in West Malaysia and Singapore, as a precursor to the launch of the Visit Sarawak campaign in 2019. The new logo symbolises fun and friendliness, while representing the state's warm hospitality.The multicoloured fonts spell out "Sarawak" with the tagline "More to Discover", and includes the hornbill which represents Sarawak's moniker Bumi Kenyalang (Land of the Hornbills). The hornbill is also an important symbol of luck to Sarawak's indigenous people.Campaigns will be rolled out in each target market, including ASEAN countries, the UK, China, Australia and Germany, to increase visitor arrivals to Sarawak by five million by the end of 2019.In a statement to A+M, Sharzede Salleh Askor, CEO of Sarawak Tourism Board, said that Singapore is one of the top five markets for the state, with more than a combined total of 600 seats sold by AirAsia, Scoot and Malaysia Airlines daily. This year, Sarawak received 16.65% more Singapore tourists from January to July, which according to Sharzede, was a "good indicator" of gaining interest from Singaporean travellers.Sharzede added that Singaporeans can look forward to more new packages that will offer competitively priced offerings focusing on culture, adventure, nature, food and festivals. "Singapore will be a central hub for Sarawak Tourism Board’s marketing strategies as the Sarawak state government will be setting up an office in Singapore next year. We will be amplifying our digital presence in Singapore, and along with that, we are also working airlines and agencies to reach out to more Singapore-based tourists," Sharzede added.Besides boosting its digital presence, it will also collaborate with airlines and Tourism Malaysia offices in its target markets, as well as carry out joint promotions with travel agents.According to Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, Datuk Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, the tagline "More to Discover" underscores Sarawak Tourism Board's strategy to position the state as a destination to discover culture adventure, nature, food, and festivals that are not found elsewhere worldwide.The state recorded a total revenue of RM8.59 billion from tourism in 2017, which accounted for 7.9% of its GDP. It had 2.6 million international arrivals last year, with 48.98% of visitors mainly coming from ASEAN countries.