Tourists nationwide receive warm welcome

IPOH: The Perak government is confident of achieving five million in tourists arrivals during Visit Malaysia Year 2014 despite limited allocations and problems plaguing the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport.

State Tourism Committee chairman Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi said the target was realistic as 5.8 million tourists visited the state last year.

“We are hoping international events like the Royal Belum World Drums Festival and Pangkor International Development Dialogue will increase the number of foreign and domestic tourist arrival Perak this year,” she said after welcoming passengers of a Firefly flight from Singapore that landed at the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport here yesterday.

Nolee said Perak had allocated RM8 million for the state’s tourism programmes.

It would be utilised as efficiently as possible in drawing up activities to attract tourists, she added.

“An allocation of RM8 million is a very small amount but we will make do with it to get maximum results.

“We are working with the private sector to help us with programmes expenditure.

“We hope the Tourism and Culture Ministry will assist us by providing much-needed allocation.”

Nolee said several airlines had expressed their interest to operate at the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport despite news reports that the airport’s newly extended runaway was not able to accomodate bigger aircraft, such as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-400.

“We have to wait until remedial works at the airport’s runaway is completed before such flights can begin,” she said, noting that tourist arrivals was expected to grow significantly once the airline started operating at the airport.

In Kota Kinabalu, the Sabah government will focus on tourists from Japan and Europe to meet its 3.4 million tourist arrivals target.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the ministry would be spearheading efforts to ensure flights between Kota Kinablau and Tokyo would resume soon.

“We see a potential of visitors from Japan judging from the increase in arrivals of 26 per cent to Sabah last year.

“It is going to be the first project for the ministry to visit Japan on Jan 13 until 16 (to promote the state),” he said, adding that direct flights had been halted a few years back because of low-passenger traffic.

Masidi said the ministry would be taking part in the International Tourism Exchange (ITB Berlin) in Germany in March.

“Malaysia, particularly Sabah, is among top choices destination of people from cold countries.

“Therefore, we should leverage on this to promote the country.”

Masidi pointed out the lack of accommodation and proper infrastructure to access potential tourism products as setbacks to tourism in Sabah.

He hoped more hotels would be built and the various agencies involved work together to develop places of interest.

Present to welcome tourists at Kota Kinabalu International Airport yesterday were Tourism Malaysia chairman Senator Datuk Maznah Mazlan, Tourism Malaysia board member Datuk Seri Dr Zainal Adlin Mahmood and Tourism Malaysia deputy director-general Datuk Azizan Noordin.

In Malacca, Bernama reports that the state government has planned 96 tourism programmes, including 15 main events, to boost tourism in the state.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron said the programmes included the Raptor Watch Week 2014 from March 8 to 9, 17th Archipelago Drum Festival (April 9 to 17) and Malacca River Invitational Festival 2014 (May 22 to June 22).

He said the programmes were drawn up to lure 15 millions tourists to Malacca.

“We are confident of meeting the target with the help of numerous parties, especially industry players,” he said at the New Year’s celebration at Warrior Square in Bandar Hilir.

His speech was read by state Education, Higher Education, Science and Technology, Green Technology and Innovation Committee chairman Datuk Md Yunos Husin.

In Johor Baru, there is a need for an additional 16,000 hotel rooms to cater to the expected surge in demand and tourist arrivals in the state over the next three years.

State Tourism, Domestic Trade and Consumerism Committee chairman Datuk Tee Siew Kiong said Johor needed 11,550 three-star to five-star hotel rooms and 4,350 budget hotel rooms by 2017.

 

He said Johor had its own tourist attractions like Legoland Malaysia Theme Park in Nusajaya that had attracted about three million visitors since its launch a year ago.

Mei Lum Song, 4, from China, posing for a photograph at Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport in Kuantan, Pahang, yesterday. Bernama pic

Tourists nationwide receive warm welcome