Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said this following a recent signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) on strategic cooperation between his ministry and the Fujian Provincial’s Department of Culture and Tourism.

“With the signing of the MoU, we will have more collaboration and one of them is our plan to have direct flights from Fujian to Sarawak,” he said.

Abdul Karim, who is also Asajaya assemblyman, said this at a press conference after officiating the Ramah Tamah Aidilfitri programme at Asajaya Sports Complex here today.

“China is among the countries that exports the most number of visitors, whether to New Zealand, Turkiye, Europe and countries in Southeast Asia.

“With this good relationship and China’s positive perception of Sarawak as a safe tourist destination offering various tourism products, this will further increase the number of tourists’ arrival to the state,” he said.

The ministry has initially targeted 3 million visitors’ arrival for 2023, but this figure could potentially reach up to 4 million by this year’s end, he added.