KUCHING: Sarawak continues to attract tourists from countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with statistics showing that more than 55 per cent of tourist arrivals to the state throughout 2024 were from the region.

Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industries and Performing Arts, Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said that a total of 2.6 million visitors from ASEAN member countries were recorded visiting Sarawak, making ASEAN the largest contributor to tourist arrivals to the region for last year.

"For this year, up to March, there were 581,775 visitors from ASEAN countries, with Brunei Darussalam contributing 67 per cent and Indonesia 28 per cent of the total," he explained.

He said this when speaking at the 33rd ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Gala Dinner at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly here on Thursday.

Sarawak Deputy Premier, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan was present to officiate the event representing Sarawak Premier, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg.

Dato Sri Abdul Karim added that this success was also linked to Sarawak's unique strengths such as cultural diversity, rich ecosystems and the inclusive development approach practiced by this region.

In conjunction with the event, he said that Sarawak took the opportunity to highlight the increasingly close socio-cultural ties of ASEAN, thus strengthening friendship and common aspirations in shaping the future of this region.

"ASEAN has always been a symbol of harmony and cooperation. Through events such as this, we come together to strengthen understanding and commitment to continuous cooperation," he said.

He added that the inspiration to embrace cultural diversity can be clearly seen in the warm welcome of the people and the rich traditional heritage in Sarawak, in line with the spirit of ASEAN which celebrates unity in diversity.

Speaker of the Sarawak Legislative Assembly Speaker, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nasar, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister in the Sarawak Premier's Department, Dato Sri John Sikie Tayai, Sarawak Deputy Ministers, Deputy Sarawak Secretary (Operations), Datu Hii Chang Kee and other dignitaries were among those present. -UKASnews