KUCHING: Despite a slight drop in attendance at the Rainforest World Music Festival 2025 (RWMF 2025), the Sarawak government does not view the event as a failure.
Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said a festival’s success is not just about attendance, but also its economic impact and benefits to tourism and local communities.
“This year, RWMF drew 22,148 visitors, compared to around 25,000 to 26,000 last year.
“Although there was a slight drop, the crowd this year was of higher quality, with more families and international tourists among the attendees,” he told the media after a press conference on the PETRONAS Youth Football Closed Tournament 2025 (PYFCT 2025) at Baitulmakmur II today.
He said the presence of families was a good sign, showing the festival is becoming a fun and inclusive event for all ages.
Abdul Karim said the drop in attendance was not just because of ticket prices, but also due to competition from major concerts in cities like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Manila happening at the same time.
Nonetheless, he emphasised that the government’s focus is on the long-term impact on the tourism industry – not just on ticket revenue.
“We don’t measure return on investment (ROI) purely from ticket sales.
“Imagine – nearly half of the 22,000 attendees came from outside Sarawak.
“They had to stay in hotels and dine in our local restaurants. We look at the spin-off effects.
“If we only focused on ticket profits, that would be difficult – unless the ministry or Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) were turned into corporate entities with a profit-driven focus,” he said.
He added that Sarawak’s tourism earnings were up as of May 2025, despite a slight drop in visitor numbers compared to last year.
“If we look at the period from January to May, the number of visitors to Sarawak this year is slightly lower than last year.
“But in terms of tourism revenue, we recorded a significant increase – because international tourists, especially from Europe, tend to spend more during their stay.
“Each month from January to May, our tourism receipts exceeded RM1 billion.
“This shows that while there may be fewer tourists in terms of numbers, their economic value is higher,” he explained.
Abdul Karim said the Sarawak government sees festivals like RWMF not just as business events, but as ways to boost tourism, promote the state, and offer quality entertainment.
RWMF 2025 was held from June 20 to 22, featuring local and international performers.
