Sarawak Tourism Board

What Sarawak Tourism Board does

Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) is the official statutory tourism promotion body of the Sarawak State Government in Malaysian Borneo, operating under the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak. Founded in 1994 and headquartered at Level 4, Plaza Aurora, Kuching, the organization promotes Sarawak as a tourism destination through a centralized digital platform at sarawaktourism.com that publishes a directory of Places to Visit (Kuching, Sibu, Miri, Bintulu, and other towns), categorized Things to Do listings across Culture, Adventure, Nature, Food, and Festival, editorial Stories, and downloadable brochures and maps. The board also operates a physical visitor information centre at its Kuching headquarters and maintains official social media accounts across Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, X, and YouTube.

The board's value proposition is built around Sarawak's distinctive natural and cultural assets, including two UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Gunung Mulu National Park and Niah National Park), the Sarawak Delta Geopark, 34 ethnic groups with distinct cultural traditions, traditional longhouse stays, biodiversity-rich national parks with orangutans and proboscis monkeys, and anchor events such as the Rainforest World Music Festival. STB does not sell tourism products directly; it functions as a destination marketing organization that channels demand to authorized tour operators, accommodation providers, the regional airline MasWings, and river transport services along the Rajang River. Its go-to-market approach is event-driven, anchored by major international trade show participation (WTM London, ITB Berlin), and is currently scaled around the 'Gateway to Borneo' campaign launched at ITB Berlin in March 2024 with a stated target of 4 million visitors, and the 'Sarawak Welcomes You' video launched for Visit Malaysia Year 2026.

As a government statutory body, STB is funded through state budget allocations rather than commercial revenue. The organization employs 51-100 staff and is governed by a board chaired by Dennis Ngau. Its strategic partnerships span government agencies (Sarawak Forestry Corporation, Sarawak Museum Department), co-promotion bodies (Sabah Tourism Board, Business Events Sarawak), an international representative office (Sarawak Trade & Tourism Office Singapore / STATOS), and cultural organizations (Sarawak Craft Council). Performance is measured in visitor arrivals and destination awareness rather than top-line financial metrics.

Name

Sarawak Tourism Board

Legal name

Sarawak Tourism Board

Website

https://sarawaktourism.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Sarawak Tourism Board is the Sarawak State Government's statutory tourism promotion body, marketing Malaysian Borneo as a destination through digital content, international trade shows, and partnerships with tour operators, airlines, and government agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourism Destination Marketing

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Permitting, Reservations & Visitor Information Services (Passes, Booking, Visitor Centers) (THAAAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Marine Wildlife Sanctuaries & Protected Seascape Visitor Operations (Reef/Marine Parks) (THAAAFAJ)

Keywords

• Destination marketing
• Tourism promotion
• Cultural tourism
• Nature tourism
• Travel information

Headquarters

HQ city

Kuching

HQ country

Malaysia

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sarawak Tourism Board is a government statutory body that promotes Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo) as a tourism destination through destination marketing, visitor information, and travel content delivered via its website, social media, and trade events. It curates directories of places to visit, things to do, and stories, and produces downloadable brochures to attract domestic and international tourists to the state's cultural, nature, adventure, food, and festival offerings.

Product overview

Sarawak Tourism Board operates a comprehensive tourism information platform comprising interconnected services: Places to Visit (directory of towns and major attractions across Sarawak), Things to Do (categorized activities including Culture, Adventure, Nature, Food, and Festival experiences), Stories (travel articles and content showcasing tourism experiences), Brochures and Downloads (printable tourism resources and guides). The platform also promotes specific attractions like Sarawak Delta Geopark and events such as the Rainforest World Music Festival, supported by tourism campaigns like the Gateway to Borneo initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Places to Visit Online directory of destinations and attractions across Sarawak, providing visitors with curated information on where to go, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites, national parks, and cultural sites.
• Things to Do Online directory of activities and experiences available in Sarawak, covering adventure, cultural, nature, food, and festival offerings for prospective travelers.
• Stories Editorial travel content and editorial features highlighting Sarawak's culture, people, and destinations, intended to inspire travel and educate visitors.
• Brochures and Downloads Downloadable print and digital brochures providing detailed destination and travel planning information to consumers and travel trade partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Gunung Mulu National Park and Niah National Park
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sabah Tourism BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint launch with Sabah Tourism Board for Borneo UNESCO Sites packages, combining tourism offerings from both Sarawak and Sabah states to promote the Borneo UNESCO World Heritage destinations.
• Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated organization focused on business events and meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) tourism in Sarawak.
• Sarawak Trade & Tourism Office Singapore (STATOS)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerInternational representative office in Singapore promoting Sarawak tourism to Singaporean and Southeast Asian markets.
• Ministry Of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts SarawakcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent government ministry overseeing tourism policy and promotion in Sarawak. STB operates under this ministry's direction.
• Sarawak Forestry CorporationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment corporation managing national parks and forest reserves in Sarawak, critical for nature-based tourism attractions.
• Sarawak Craft CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization promoting local handicrafts and traditional crafts, supporting artisan communities and cultural tourism experiences.
• Sarawak Museum DepartmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment department managing museums and cultural heritage sites, supporting cultural tourism and heritage education.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Tourism Malaysia: National tourism promotion body of Malaysia under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. STB sits beneath this national framework and must coordinate Visit Malaysia Year campaigns with it, making Tourism Malaysia the closest broad incumbent comparable.
• Singapore Tourism Board: One of the most-resourced national DMO's in Southeast Asia. Operates as a benchmark for trade show presence, digital content, and global destination marketing campaigns in the same regional competitive set as Sarawak.
• Tourism Authority of Thailand: Long-established national tourism authority with comparable culture-nature-food positioning and similar tropical destination strategy. Competes with Sarawak for the same European and intra-Asian tourist segments.
• Indonesia Ministry of Tourism: National tourism authority promoting destinations like Bali, Lombok, and beyond. A dominant regional competitor for Sarawak's international tourist share with significantly larger budgets and brand recognition.
• Philippines Department of Tourism: National tourism authority for the Philippines, competing for the same Southeast Asia beach, island, and culture traveler. Comparable function and tropical destination profile, though operating at significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Sabah Tourism Board: Direct state-level peer and active partner of STB on the joint Borneo UNESCO Sites package. Both promote Malaysian Borneo destinations with overlapping nature and cultural assets (e.g., Kinabalu Park vs. Gunung Mulu) to similar international audiences.

Regional players

• Brunei Tourism and Hospitality Department: Government tourism promotion body for Brunei, a small Borneo neighbor with similar rainforest, cultural, and Islamic heritage tourism offerings. Highly comparable in scale and function though operating in a separate jurisdiction.
• Visit Penang: State-level destination marketing body for Penang, another Malaysian state tourism organization. Directly comparable in scope (intra-Malaysia DMO), UNESCO heritage promotion (George Town), and culinary/festival positioning.

Others

• Tourism New Zealand: Although geographically distant, TNZ is frequently cited as a global benchmark for small-population DMO marketing leveraging nature, indigenous culture, and adventure tourism — directly analogous to Sarawak's positioning strategy.

Emerging players

• Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak): Adjacent Sarawak state entity focused on MICE tourism. Sits within the same state tourism ecosystem as STB and is listed as a partner organization, making it the most directly comparable sub-entity for business event promotion.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SarawakTravel
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/sarawaktourismbcm
• Facebookfacebook.com/visitsarawak
• Instagraminstagram.com/sarawaktravel
• Pinterestpinterest.com/sarawaktravel
• TikToktiktok.com/@sarawaktravel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sarawak Tourism Board