S’pore-based travel agents on familiarisation tour to Kuching

KUCHING: Seven Singaporebased agents have been handpicked by the Sarawak Trade Tourism Office Singapore (Statos) and Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) for a travel agent familiarisation tour to Kuching, starting today.

Statos chief executive officer Chew Chang Guan said these agencies were picked based on their demonstrated commitment to actively promote Sarawak holiday packages in the republic.

He also said this will be first post-pandemic travel agent familiarisation tour to be welcomed by Kuching’s tourism industry players in nearly three years.

“Since the reopening of borders in April, the number of Singapore visitors to Sarawak remains positive with Singapore being top three in the charts, attracting 12,984 visitors between March and August this year.

“The time is right for us to bring Singapore agents to Sarawak to visit and rediscover everything Kuching has to offer.

“With many exciting new tourism products to showcase, it will certainly give our agents plenty of new ideas to upgrade and add value to their next tour packages,” he said in a press release.

According to the press release, the group led by two officers from the Statos team includes representatives from Broadway Travel, Muhibbah Travel, QQ Travel, EU Holidays, Going Places, Neway Travel and Singatour.

Their jam-packed four-day programme, which will run until Oct 2, is designed to highlight experiences that directly appeal to the Singapore market – as identified in the recently published Singapore travel market research study.

With food recognised as one of the main selling points in Singapore, the programme will include a scrumptious food trail offering different dining experiences during which participants will sample local delicacies such as Sarawak laksa, kolo mee and ice kacang.

During their stay, the participants will also be visiting several must-see attractions including Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, the recently opened Borneo Cultures Museum, Siniawan Night Market, and the ever-popular Sarawak Culture Village.