Kelantan Aims 50,000 Tourist Arrivals From Indonesia This Year - TIC

KOTA BHARU, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- The Kelantan Tourism Information Centre (TIC) aims to attract 50,000 tourists from Indonesia to visit the state this year, according to its Director, Mohd Zaki Ismail.

He said Kelantan has become one of the new tourist destinations for Indonesians following a promotional initiative by the Malaysian Budget and Business Hotels Association (MyBHA.

“Previously, many Indonesians, though familiar with Malaysia,  did not know what Kelantan specifically had to offer.

"Last year, we conducted a promotional visit to Riau, Indonesia. As part of a reciprocal business-to-business (B2B) visit, representatives from the Indonesian travel industry came to experience firsthand the unique attractions of the state of Cik Siti Wan Kembang," he told Bernama during a recent event in Pengkalan Datu.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Riau Association of Indonesian Travel Agents (Astindo), Harpina Dian Sari said that a 30-member delegation participated in the tour, all visiting Kelantan for the first time.

"Travel agents usually take us to well-known destinations such as Kuala Lumpur and Melaka. However, this trip to Kelantan showed us that the state also offers many interesting attractions, along with well-developed road networks and budget-friendly hotels," she said.

"Kelantan is far from the hustle and bustle of the city and has many scenic villages, natural beauty, unique culture and traditional food," she said.

Kelantan MyBHA Association chairman Mohd Asri Husin said not many tourists from Indonesia visit Kelantan because they are unaware of the interesting places in the state.

He believed that programmes like this would attract more people from Indonesia to make Kelantan their holiday destination.

--BERNAMA