KUANTAN: The Pahang government is allocating RM160,000 in Bantuan Prihatin Pahang (BPP) to 800 tour boat operators and mountain guides in the state, said the state Unity, Tourism and Culture Committee chairman Leong Yu Man (pix).
She said each individual will receive assistance amounting to RM200 to help ease their burden following the constraints to carry out activities during the monsoon season.
“This assistance is also, among other things, a sign of appreciation for the players in the tourism industry in Pahang and a sign of the state government’s concern for them.
“They are also among the contributors to the Pahang tourism sector and establish good cooperation with the state government,” she said at a press conference after presenting the aid to 91 recipients for the Kuantan district at the Pahang Tourism Office here, today.
Even more special, according to Leong, these industry players are now entitled to automatic insurance protection worth up to RM100,000 a year.
The group insurance protection, launched by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail recently, provides benefits of RM100,000 for death and permanent disability due to accidents, medical expenses due to accidents (RM2,500), hospitalisation due to accidents up to 30 days (RM50 per day) and repatriation expenses (RM5,000).
Meanwhile, Leong said that Pahang had recorded the arrival of more than 9 million domestic and international tourists until September this year, and the state government was optimistic that the target of 13 million tourists would be reached by the end of this month.
Commenting on the state government’s efforts to get hold of the creator of the popular Japanese anime, Jujutsu Kaisen, to boost the state’s tourism sector, Leong said Tourism Malaysia’s representative in Tokyo met with the publisher on Monday.
“At the meeting, we also put forward proposals including a memorial and inviting anime creators to visit Pahang...the publisher needs to get permission from the creators and they said they would give feedback within a week,” she said.
The Pahang government was previously reported to be trying to get hold of the creator of the anime following a fan who suggested a memorial be built on Kuantan beach following the name Kuantan was trending on social media after the anime mentioned it in its 42nd episode, released last month. -Bernama
