Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture Sarawak, YB Datuk Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah announced several initiatives by the State for all travel agents and tour operators in Sarawak to help stimulate and restart the tourism industry that has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two initiatives announced are the Visitors Incentive Package (VIP) and the Sarawak Tourism Online Ecosystem Fund.

The VIP assistance included an incentive of RM30 per person for the first four pax and additional RM20 per pax for a three-day two-night (3D2N) tour package, RM40 per person for the first four pax and additional RM25 per pax for a 4D3N tour package, and RM50 per person for the first four pax and additional RM30 per pax for a 5D4N tour package.

“The incentives are applicable for tour packages which include accommodation at hotels or homestays purchased through licensed tour companies but not for free and easy visits.

“It is only applicable to groups with a minimum of four pax and a maximum of 15 pax at any one-time excluding children below two years old,” Abdul Karim said.

On the Sarawak Tourism Online Ecosystem Fund, he said any licensed tour operators involved in inbound tours were eligible to apply for the incentive of a maximum RM5,000 for either website development, design and maintenance costs, booking engine costs, digital advertising or content production.

All Sarawak tour operators are invited to apply for the incentives which will be made available from 1st July 2020 to 31st December 2020, in accordance with the criteria listed on a first come first serve basis. To find out more, please contact Sarawak Tourism Board at 082 423600 or stb@sarawaktourism.com