Abdul Karim: Sarawak yet to be briefed on federal tourism investment zones under RMK-13
KUCHING (Aug 3): Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said he will need to learn more details about the special tourism investment zones announced under the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK-13).
The Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts said he was still in the dark about the initiative, which was introduced by the federal government.
'I'm still trying to learn and understand where these tourism zones are, as far as Sarawak is concerned. For me, there are already many areas we've been promoting as our tourism products, and from the state's perspective, we don't have such zonings.
'That's why I need to learn more. Perhaps under the federal Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac), they might have created imaginary zoning areas where more tourism promotion is to be carried out. We'll see how we can be part of that,' he told reporters.
He was speaking after officiating the closing ceremony of the eMpowering Youth Across Asean Cohort 5 (eYAA) Youth EdXchange Programme at TEGAS Digital Village here this afternoon.
Abdul Karim said Sarawak has long been promoting its diverse tourism offerings without the need for formal zones.
Should the federal government proceed with the tourism investment zones, he said the state would need to review the proposal and be officially briefed on it.
'As it is, we're still doing what we've been doing; we can see the number of tourists coming in and its very good as we're targeting 5 million visitors this year, and every month our tourism receipts exceed RM1 billion. So this is a successful effort done by the state.
'Probably the tourism zones that they mentioned already fall within the areas that we are also doing a lot of marketing such as Mulu, Niah, and apart from that the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), Kuching Delta Geopark.
'If that's what they mean, then perhaps we're already on the same page. It's just that we haven't been briefed yet,' he added.
On July 31, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the special tourism investment zones tabled in the RMK-13.
Saying that this will be developed in Sarawak, Johor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan, he said this would involve collaboration between Putrajaya, state governments, the private sector and cooperatives.
'These zones will serve as catalysts for the creation of new tourism products, including those based on artistic, cultural and heritage assets, as well as natural attractions,' he added.
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