SARAWAK Opened up by backpackers, the destination offers tourists both warmth and exclusivity
Unspoilt location with five-star appeal

The towns in the interior have their own distinct character and are easily accessible by river

alaysia has long been a popular southeast Asian holiday destination for Britons. The country’s 13 island states are beginning to see a greater flow of visitors now, as the global tourism industry develops facilities in exotic locations to entice more than just adventurous backpackers.
Sarawak is the biggest of Malaysia’s states – at 124,449 sq km it is roughly half the size of Britain – yet its population is only 2.2 million. A 90-minute flight from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states – the other is Sabah – that share the huge island of Borneo with Indonesia and Brunei.
There is no doubt that part of the attraction of Sarawak is the fact that it is not overrun by mass tourism. The state authorities clearly do not want that anyway, but they would like to see a higher occupancy of the surprising number of four- and five-star hotels and resorts that have been built in recent years.

Aloysius Dris, chief executive of the Sarawak Tourism Board, recognises that this is a niche destination

That Sarawak is part of the 750,000 sq km island of Borneo, much of which consists of dense tropical rainforest, is also one of its attractions. The state’s fledgling tourist industry is cooperating with Indonesia to promote holidays that combine both countries, as well as with its sister island state of Sabah, which has the better beaches.
“One thing we are not going for is mass tourism,” says Aloysius Dris, chief executive of the Sarawak Tourism Board. “We don’t have good beaches and we don’t have big cities. Essentially, our market is a niche market and it’s going to be like that for a very long time.”
Backpackers tend to be pioneers in opening up the more remote locations of the planet and in Sarawak many of the interior towns have become popular, mainly as bases from which to explore the virgin forests of the national parks. Much of the travelling is by river, which is well-developed in the interior. “You can travel fairly quickly from town to town along the Rajang River, as far as Kapit and beyond,” says Mr Dris.

Kapit is the main town in the interior and is the centre of the Iban community. It has a character all of its own and is near a national park. Tour operators arrange for visitors to stay in the traditional longhouses, of which there are some 5,000 to be found all over the state. “Tourists don’t feel like tourists, they feel like they are visiting friends,” says Mr Dris. “This is our biggest attraction. People come to Sarawak and they see few other tourists. So they feel they are quite exclusive when they come here.”
According to Mr Dris, different areas of Sarawak appeal to different kinds of visitors. “That is good for us,” he says. “Even if we do have more visitors, they will be spread out throughout the state, as they are now. We hardly ever see them in the city.”
He adds: “Visitors are pleasantly surprised when they come here and see a fairly good number of three-, four- and five-star hotels, as well as budget hotels. Even in the central region of Sarawak, towns like Sibu, Sarikei and Kapit have become favourite places to stay.”