SEMATAN (Sarawak), Dec 11 — Langkawi has received a total of 204,953 domestic tourists from September 16 to November 30, with total tourism revenue of more than RM211 million under the travel bubble initiative, said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.

Satisfied with the development of the country’s famous holiday island tourism industry, Nancy said tourism industry players should continue to seize opportunities to generate revenue following the long effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.

She also urged domestic tourism industry players to be ready to seize the opportunity with the influx of international tourists even though the number is still small due to concerns over the spread of the new Covid-19 variant of Omicron.

She said that the travel bubble in selected destinations in the country could not meet the demand of the tourism sector but it should target the reopening of the international tourism sector in stages when the country’s borders were opened later.

She said this to reporters after officiating the Voluntourism: Greening Malaysia programme at Pantai Telok Melano here today.

She added that Pantai Telok Melano in the Tanjong Datu has the potential to be developed as an ecotourism destination in Sarawak.

Nancy, who was accompanied by the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidate for the Tanjong Datu seat in the 12th Sarawak State Election, Azizul Annuar Adenan, also proposed for the festival to be held in the constituency in efforts to increase the number of tourist arrivals, thus generating income for the people.

"Teluk Melano Bay is one of the tourist destinations in the southern part of Sarawak, at the state’s border. So there is a lot of history, products that we can highlight such as handicrafts,” she said.

Expressing her confidence in Azizul Annuar’s credibility to win the seat, Nancy said the son of fifth Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem has the criteria to be elected as a people’s representative and becoming a GPS leader in the future. — Bernama