The Sarawak government has received RM2.58 million in tourism tax revenue which came into force on Aug 1, 2017, said Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

He said although the amount was not large, the Sarawak government was grateful that the federal government had fulfilled its promise to distribute the tourism tax revenue.

"For the record, last year's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the Sarawak tourism industry was RM7.95 billion and this was a huge sum," he told a news conference after chairing a Sarawak Tourism Committee meeting here yesterday.

The committee comprises state agencies, the federal government and the Resident's Office to discuss the measures to be focused on to further boost the tourism industry in the state.

Hence, in order to increase income from tourism, the Sarawak government is trying to develop its infrastructure and existing tourism products, he said.

"Besides, the state government also plans to build a shopping mall like 'Premium Outlet' to enable shopping tourism while travelling.

"However, this will be reviewed again," he said.