KUCHING: The Sarawak government has received RM2.58 million in tourism tax revenue which came into force on Aug 1, 2017, said State Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
He said although the amount was not large the state government was grateful that the federal government had fulfilled its promise to distribute the tourism tax revenue.
“For the record, last year, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the Sarawak tourism industry was RM7.95 billion and this was a huge sum,” he told a news conference after chairing a Sarawak Tourism Committee meeting here today.
The committee comprises state agencies, the Federal government and the Resident’s Office to discuss the measures to be focused on to further boost the tourism industry in the state.
Hence, in order to increase income from tourism, the state government is trying to develop its infrastructure and existing tourism products, he said.
“Besides, the state government also plans to build a shopping mall like ‘Premium Outlet’ to enable shopping tourism while travelling. However, this will be reviewed again,” he said.
In another development, Karim said the state government is trying to develop infrastructure in the Niah Caves, Miri as it has become the focus of the world following the discovery of various archaeological materials related to early human civilisation.
Based on the discovery of historic artifacts discovered by archaeologists from the University of New South Wales, Associate Professor Dr Darren Curnoe and his team, Niah Caves had once been inhabited by humans over 40,000 years ago.
“The infrastructure includes the construction of a suspension bridge linking the main areas in Niah Caves without affecting the ecosystem and natural environment,” he said. — Bernama
