Brunei sees over 4m arrivals in 2015
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN - Brunei received over four million international arrivals by land, sea and air last year, a 4.5 per cent rise from 2014, statistics from the Tourism Department showed.
Border visits made up the largest number of arrivals with 3.8 million last year, followed by visitors coming by air with 218,213 and 35,064 cruise tourists.
In 2014, there were 3.64 million visits from the border, and 200,989 arrivals by air.
The statistics were released during a presentation by Ak Zulkhairi Pg Abdul Razak, tourism officer at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) during the closing of the Asean Community-based tourism programme here.
Ak Zulkhairi said Brunei’s main attractions were still the Ulu-Ulu Temburong National Park and Batang Duri; Kampong Ayer and landmarks in Bandar Seri Begawan, including Masjid Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien.
However, he added that there are emerging tourism spots in Brunei such as the many beaches in Brunei and recreational parks such as Tasek lama.
Homestays, diving, birdwatching and cruise tourism are also rising in popularity, he said.
Ak Zulkhairi went on to say that the top three countries entering the sultanate by air in 2015 were Malaysia, China and the Philippines.
Over 40 per cent of visitor arrivals by air came to Brunei for a holiday last year, followed by 19.6 per cent of travellers who visited for business, conventions or exhibitions.
Information on border and cruise tourists’ country of origin and purpose of visit is not available yet as MPRT is still collecting data.
Ak Zulkhairi also mentioned several initiatives that are being taken to strengthen tourism products and increase the quality of tourism.
