February 2017 – STB Newsletter

April: Month of the Frog

April has become the month of the Frog for UNIMAS, as they will be holding six programmes for varying ages focusing on the awareness and conservation of Sarawak jungle frogs, from April 21 to 29, with the highlight event being the Sixth International Bornean Frog Race.

These programmes begin with the UNIMAS Frog Race Run on April and the Exhibition of the World’s Largest Collection of Amphibian Stamps on April 26 at the UNIMAS New Campus.

On April 27 there will be an Indo-Pacific Amphibian Symposium at UNIMAS’ DeTar Auditorium as well.

The Frog Races, beginning with the Junior Programme for primary school children secondary school children, take place on April 28 and 29 respectfully at Gunung Gading National Park, Lundu.

The Sixth International Bornean Frog Race takes place on April 29 at the Gunung Gading National Park and is open to 150 participants only.

For more information or to register for one of these programmes, visit http://internationalborneanfrograce.weebly.com/

Image show small Bornean tree frog. Photo Credit: Michael Tsan and Sarawak Forestry

Kuching Rotary Charity Run

The Kuching Rotary Charity Run will take place on Sunday, February 26.

The race is open to participants aged 7 and above, with a three different categories namely the 2km, 5km and 8km category.

The race begins at Cityone Megamall Kuching, and virtual runners are also welcome to join as proceeds from the run will be donated to various charities throughout Kuching city.

For more information, or to register for the race, visit www.kuchingcentralrotary.org/rotaryrun2017

Image shows Kuching Rotary Charity Run 2017 poster and details. Photo Credit: Kuching Central Rotary.

UCSI Hotel Ready For Takeoff?

The USCI Hotel, located opposite the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) at the Isthmus Commercial Hub, will soon be opened.

The Hotel has been a long awaited addition to the Isthmus Commercial Hub as the preferred hotel for conventions taking place at BCCK and will be having its first ‘hardhat walkthrough’ later this month with members of the tourism industry.

The Isthmus is an effort by the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation, creating a centralised area for conventions and business tourism, not too far from the city centre.

It is an ongoing development plan which is estimated to be completed by the year 2020.

Image shows UCSI Hotel Concept Rendition, Photo credit: UCSI Group

Busy February for Sarawak Tourism

Sarawak Tourism will have a February as its officers will attend the Flight Centre Travel Expo 2017 in Sydney and Melbourne as well the TTC Travel Mart in Jakarta and Surabaya.

Having recently attended the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) in Singapore this January, Sarawak Tourism is showing a sustained interest in its closest and largest markets, namely Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.

The Flight Centre Travel Expo 2017 takes place on February 4 to 12 and is a consumer travel expo where tourism industry sellers meet with potential customers, where Sarawak Tourism can encourage travel and increase awareness of Sarawak as a tourist destination.

The TTC Travel Mart takes place on February 20 to 22, and is a B2B event where international tour industry sellers can meet with local buyers to discuss new business ventures.

Sarawak Tourism has many other travel fairs lined up for the year 2017.

Image shows Sarawak Tourism industry partners at ASEAN Tourism Forum, the first Travel Fair of 2017.

3D Art Display at Borneo House Museum

The Borneo House Museum interactive 3D Art Display is now officially opened.

The museum showcases Sarawak’s nature, culture, heritage and food in a new and interactive way providing an experience.

The museum comprises four Zones; Sarawak’s Nature, Old Sarawak, Sarawak Today and Sarawak’s Iconic Food.

All the murals, art pieces and displays are a combined effort of Sarawakian artists, some of whom have direct connections to the history they are recreating in the museum.

Plans are underway to extend the museum to include more extensive historical displays from the Brooke and World War Two eras.

For more information, contact borneohousemuseum@gmail.com

Image shows tourist at the interactive Borneo House Museum. Photo Credit: Henerita Saran

Sarawak Best Travel Destination for Nature

Sarawak has been presented the ‘Best for Nature’ Award in Travel Journal’s Travel Awards 2017.

Through a Travel Journal readership survey, a poll was taken for the best destinations in the world and Sarawak won ‘Best for Nature’ for its environment-centered tour and travel packages, ongoing conservation tourism as well as its unique and irreplaceable nature destinations which are a balance of authentic and preserved, and modern connectivity.

Three national parks were singled out as exemplary travel spots for nature lovers, specifically Gunung Mulu National Park, Batang Ai National Park and Bako National Park.

Gunung Mulu National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its flora, fauna and cave systems, while Batang Ai and Bako National Park are known as sanctuaries for Sarawak’s endangered rare primates, the orang utans and Proboscis monkeys.

Image shows caver at Mulu National Park’s Clearwater Cave.

Sarawak Tourism Welcomes New CEO

Michael Geoffrey Cannon has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Sarawak Tourism and is now the group Managing Director of both Sarawak Tourism and the Sarawak Convention Bureau.

Welcome to Sarawak Tourism!

Image shows Michael Cannon. Photo Credit: Sarawak Convention Bureau

The Chief Minister and Tourism Minister of Sarawak

Datuk Amar Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Johari has been sworn in as the Honorary Chief Minister of Sarawak effective January 13 this year.

He took his oath of office as Right Honourable Chief Minister at Astana before the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud at 2.05 pm on January 13.

Datuk Amar Abang Johari is fondly known among local Sarawakians as Abang Jo.

He was formerly Deputy Chief Minister, Minister of Housing and Urbanisation as well as Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture before being appointed the Chief Minister’s post.

Image shows Datuk Amar Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Johari being sworn in as Chief Minsiter. Photo Credit: Sin Chew Daily