Lenggong’s caves which is part of the Unesco heritage site is a major tourist attraction. — Filepic
THE number of tourist arrivals in conjunction with the Visit Perak Year (VPY) 2024 campaign has reached 7.41 million in the third quarter of the year.
State tourism, industry, investment and corridor development committee chairman Loh Sze Yee said the data was obtained from Perak’s 12 local authorities and tourism operators between January and September.
It was also from a sampling of 209 tourism products out of 422 in the state, he added.
“Based on the Hotel Guest Survey that involves sampling of 40 hotels registered with Tourism Malaysia, 609,249 international tourists visited and stayed overnight in Perak during the same period, exceeding the campaign target of 350,000 international tourists,” he said.
Data from the Immigration Department, he said, showed the arrival of international tourists via land entry point at Pengkalan Hulu (at the Thai border) as of September amounted to 104,861 people, with the majority coming from Thailand, followed by Singapore, China, Indonesia and Vietnam.
He added that entry of international tourists via the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh during the same period was 63,974 people.
“A majority of them were from Singapore, followed by Australia, China and India,” he said in reply to Goh See Hua (PH-Pasir Pinji) during the state assembly sitting at Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan in Ipoh, yesterday.
Goh had asked if there had been an improvement in tourist arrivals this year, compared to the previous year.
He also asked about next year’s tourism plans.
Loh said the positive development gave the state government confidence that the targetted eight million domestic tourists and 350,000 international tourists arrivals in Perak could be achieved by the year end.
For next year, he said the state government would be expanding its promotional efforts by integrating the use of digital media as a strategic tool to strengthen cooperation between tourism industry players.
“This move also opens up opportunities for new innovative sub-sectors, in line with current developments.
“Tourism programmes involving promotion, development and events are designed comprehensively, with an emphasis on gastronomy, transportation, hospitality, handicraft, culture, agriculture, and mining sectors, which provide a multiplier impact on the economy.”
Loh said the state was also aware that there were many old tourism products that needed to be improved on.
“The state government has also opened a new cluster in Lenggong, a geopark and Unesco heritage area with unique characteristics, to be developed for eco-tourism, heritage, history and also for extreme sports,” he added.
