STB inks Memorandum of Understanding to woo more Chinese nationals to visit Sarawak
BAODING, China: Sarawak Tourism Board ( STB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) at the First Conference of Hebei Tourism Industry Development that could lead to more tourists from China visiting the state.
Asistant Minister of Tourism Datuk Lee Kim Shin was at Baoding, Hebei Province, to witness Datuk Abdul Wahab Aziz, chairman of STB, signing the deal on the state’s behalf.
“We must change some of our approaches as their ( Chinese) market expectations may differ from ours. But this MOU brings us closer to attracting more Chinese tourists,” said Lee after the signing ceremony.
Immediate results might follow the inking of the agreement as it would facilitate getting charter f lights between Sarawak and Hebei Province.
The MoU opens up opportunities for close cooperation, aggressive promotions and establishment of business exchanges in the tourism sector. There would also be more research to develop tourist attractions as Hebei and Sarawak share similar tourism products such as mountains, geoparks, lakes, and culture.
STB has been putting in a lot of effort to tap into the China market in line with the state’s Economic Transformation Plan to get the tourism sector to be a major contributor to its GDP.
During the conference, which started on Sept 22 and ended yesterday, the board had the opportunity to share how the state managed its national parks and mountainbased attractions with the participants.