KUALA TERENGGANU: A total of 14 yachts carrying 35 sailors from various countries have anchored in Terengganu in conjunction with the Sail Malaysia Passage to the East Yacht Rally 2024 (Sail Malaysia).
Terengganu Tourism Department (JPNT) director, Ahmad Ridzwan Abd Rahman said the 15-day programme, which started last Sunday and runs until June 2, involves participants from among others Australia, the United States, Hong Kong, Switzerland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
“The youngest sailor in this programme is three-year-old Sawyer Anderson, while the oldest participant is 83-year-old Larry Green.
“They have chosen several popular tourist destinations in Terengganu, including Kuala Terengganu, Pulau Kapas, Pulau Redang and Pulau Perhentian,” he said in a statement today.
He said that the participants will be in Kuala Terengganu for five days starting from yesterday, where they will be introduced to the state’s culture and traditions and given the opportunity to sample traditional dishes provided by JPNT.
Ahmad Ridzwan noted that they will visit prominent locations in Kuala Terengganu, including Kampung Budaya Terengganu, the boat-making area in Kampung Pulau Rusa, Noor Arfa Batik and Pasar Payang.
“A programme like this not only showcases the state as a sailing destination but also highlights the beauty of Terengganu’s islands and its culture to the world. JPNT hopes that such programmes will promote Kuala Terengganu as a yachting hub.
“JPNT will continue to provide full cooperation for such programmes to attract more international sailors to Terengganu and will request feedback fromthe participants about their sailing experience,” he said.
For the record, Sail Malaysia, which offers comprehensive programmes to promote nautical and boating tourism, is organised by Cruise Marine Tourism Association of Malaysia and managed by SM Yachting Sdn Bhd.
This programme has been promoting nautical tourism in Malaysia since 2005, with the last stop in Terengganu in 2017.
