Getting to Perak’s iconic rainforest may now be just a short flight away from Ipoh. A flight between Ipoh’s Sultan Azlan Shah Airport and Grik’s airstrip is possible now that the Ipoh Airport is declared fit for use by Dato’ Nolee Ashilin Mohd Radzi, the Executive Councillor for Tourism and Culture during a media conference held at Syuen Hotel, Ipoh recently.
The conference was to formally announce the two-day Royal Belum Intellectual Discourse scheduled for on October 13 and 14 at Syuen Hotel, Ipoh. A purpose-made brochure for the discourse was the focus of the launch gimmick.
Organised by the Perak Tourism Association in collaboration with the Perak State Government, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (Perak) and the Pulau Banding Foundation, the discourse’s objective is to develop strategies to promote Royal Belum as a world renowned eco-tourism destination and to highlight products and potentially new research materials that Royal Belum has to offer.
According to Nolee Ashilin Mohd Radzi, the Perak government is preparing itself to receive foreign visitors with the reopening of the Ipoh airport. “The nine sinkholes, which had received wide media coverage, were in fact depressions which have been covered. The airport now is ready for use again. Safety is no longer an issue,” she disclosed.
The state government, said Nolee, is considering several new flying routes into and exiting Ipoh. And they include an Ipoh-Johor flight by Firefly and flights to Medan, Hong Kong and China.
“The discourse is only the first step in developing opportunities for Perak’s tourism industry. We, and those involved in the industry, will continue to explore options because Perak is a state that is full of potentials. But before that is done, we’ll be focusing on services that will help instil confidence in foreign tourists to come back,” she insisted.
The two-day workshop will discuss and deliberate on four topics related to the Belum rainforest. They are, “Effective Promotion and Marketing”, “Potential of Research in Royal Belum”, “Readiness of Royal Belum” and “Addressing Security and Environmental Issues in Royal Belum”.
The state government along with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (Perak), the Pulau Banding Foundation and Syeun Hotel, Ipoh donated a sum in excess of RM60,000 to the organisers to ensure the success of the upcoming event.
President of the Perak Tourism Association, Haji Odzman Abdul Kadir received the donations on behalf of the organisers.
Yvette
