Counting down to the Visit Perak Year 2017, the Perak Tourism Association (PTA) initiated a Tourism Tea Gathering on Tuesday, February 2 at WEIL Hotel, Ipoh in the presence of guest of honour, the Executive Councillor for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Multimedia and Communications, Dato’ Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi and over 90 players within the tourism fraternity. They also included KTM Intercity, Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA), state tourism officers, representatives from hotels, airlines and NGOs.
Also present was former President of PTA, Datuk Mohd Zainal Abidin bin Haji Abdul Kadir.
“We’ve requested organisations in the tourism industry to purchase the Visit Perak Year 2017 lapel pins for all their staff to wear throughout the year 2016. This will be an awareness campaign that all of us are playing our role in our own way,” said Hj Mohd Odzman bin Abdul Kadir, the President of PTA since 2010.
“Running on the theme ‘World of Wonders’, Visit Perak Year 2017 is aimed at making the tourism industry the second highest contributor for the state’s gross domestic product,” Dato’ Nolee explained. Among the initiatives taken are: Wi-Fi upgrade, training courses in human resource, developing agro-tourism, increasing the state’s visibility outside of Perak especially in Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Pahang, launching of commemorative stamps and the establishment of an official state merchandise store.
Two new players, Ipoh Convention Centre and Movie Animation Park Studios (MAPS), also shared their added attractions to the attendees.
Ipoh Convention Centre would have an exhibition hall with a capacity of 4000 and a combination of 43 retail outlets of branded goods, 313-room hotel (operated by Pullman International) in one tower and 300 service-apartment units in another tower.
Meanwhile, the upcoming MAPS offers 40 attractions in six themed zones with the DreamWorks Zone as its highlight. With a target opening in July, MAPS also has a 20-storey drop, 4D theatre, three-level starship dining restaurant and stunt shows.
According to Dato’ Nolee, the two new products would address the issue of low occupancy rate during the weekdays for hotels. With the right strategy and promotion, it will help all the industry players to fill in the gaps in further strengthening the potentials for tourists to visit Ipoh and Perak.
Mei Kuan
