KUALA BERANG: The Terengganu government is targetting 4.5 million tourist arrivals next year, according to State Tourism, Culture, Environment and Climate Change Committee chairman Datuk Razali Idris (pix).
He said the target was set based on the number of tourist arrivals this year, which exceeded 3.5 million people.
He added that to achieve the target, various promotional activities will be carried out within and outside the country, including Europe and the Middle East, which are the new focus of tourism.
“We believe that the world economy will improve next year. As a state government, we have started the promotions as of now.
“So far, we have often promoted in Europe and China, and we will continue to do so. However, next year we want to shift a little to the Middle East to attract more tourists,“ he said after the International Monsoon Casting Tournament (IMCT) 2023 prize presentation ceremony in Kenyir Pengkalan Gawi today.
A total of 250 anglers from Malaysia, China, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia took part in the four-day IMCT competition starting from Dec 15.
Razali also said that the state government will extend tourism programmes from November to March, during the monsoon season.
This is in response to the decline in tourist arrivals during this period due to perception problems among the public.
“The monsoon season is still seen as an inappropriate time to visit Terengganu because the islands and resorts are closed.
“This perception is wrong because we still have many tourism products to offer, including rain play packages at Setiu Wetland, Rainforest Challenge, Monsoon Ride, and many more,“ he said. -Bernama
