Abang Johari (centre), Abdul Karim (fourth left) and Jaul (fourth right) place their palm on the podium to symbolically officiate they Sarawak Travel App and Portal while (from left) Lee, Dr Sim, Asfia, Ting, Zaidi and Hii look on. – Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi

KUCHING: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has urged tourism industry players to train themselves in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications in keeping with the state’s vision of embracing digital technology in the tourism sector.

He said when local players are trained, this can then be applied to tourism products such as the Sarawak Travel App and Portal to create a good impression and pique the interest of visitors to come to Sarawak.

“The Centre of Technical Excellence Sarawak (Centexs) has a collaboration with EON Reality, which has a branch in Europe. This is the number one company in the world in the AR platform.

“In this regard, your staff or travel agents can be trained on how to handle VR and AR though the programme at Centexs,” he said when launching the Sarawak Travel App and Portal at a hotel here today.

On the Sarawak Travel App and Portal, Abang Johari said the contents serve as a crucial part of attracting visitors to the state.

“We have to introduce our various products including places of interest and for them to book a trip to Sarawak directly on the app or web portal.

“For instance, through VR and AR, app users or those who visit the web portal can see our places of interest virtually.

“If they are interested, they can then book their trip on the app or web portal and place a deposit,” he suggested.

Meanwhile, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the Sarawak Travel App and Web Portal is a strategic partnership and collaborative effort by his ministry, Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA), and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) which aims to digitalise major components of Sarawak tourism industry.

“The digitalisation of tourism industry aspires to allow seamless travel experience for both domestic and international tourists to Sarawak,” Abdul Karim said.

Through the developed travel app, he said tourists will be able to experience street view of attractions such as the Sarawak Cultural Village, Fort Margherita, and Old Court House; view 360-degree panoramic images of local attractions such as the Kuching Waterfront, Mulu National Park; locate and savour Sarawak dishes; try virtual tour and presence in a traditional longhouse; plan and arrange tours; and arrange and view transportation facilitation information.

He said the project, which is expected to end in April 2021, is designed and developed progressively in five modules or phases that would fit into the state’s Sarawak More to Discover campaign of Culture, Adventure, Nature, Food and Festival (CANFF).

“It will showcase Sarawak’s diverse culture, adventure, nature, food and festivals in mobile application and web portal as well as present them through virtual reality and augmented reality capabilities.

“This app is a virtual tourist guide, and it will take the experience of tourists who use it to a whole new level. This includes getting information about destinations, making bookings and transactions, and leaving reviews on the places they have visited,” he said.

Also present were Local Government and Housing Minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, Transport Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Sebastian Ting, State Legislative Assembly speaker Datuk Amar Mohammad Asfia Awang Nassar, State Secretary Datuk Amar Jaul Samion, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture permanent secretary Hii Chang Kee and SMA general manager Dr Zaidi Razak.