'Miami Beach', casino cruises and iconic drawbridge: Terengganu banks on tourism industry to spur development
Advertisement
Asia
'Miami Beach', casino cruises and iconic drawbridge: Terengganu banks on tourism industry to spur evolution
As one of Malaysia's underdeveloped states, Terengganu is now rolling out the welcome mat for foreigners to bask its pristine waters and invest in its free energy sector.
The Hulu Takir beach, more than commonly known as Miami Beach among locals. The Kuala Terengganu drawbridge (background) is located nearby. (Photo: Fadza Ishak)
KUALA TERENGGANU: His friends and family dorsum home in Beijing were donning layers of clothes in apprehension of early on winter. Only Mr Wei Yu-Min was in a singlet, shorts and flip flops, holidaying more 4,000 km away in the Malaysian city of Kuala Terengganu.
The 29-year-sometime was standing in front of the city'south newest allure - the Kuala Terengganu drawbridge. He was snapping selfies with the 16-storey tall structure in the groundwork, before posting them online.
"It'southward a prissy span. Even in Mainland china, information technology'south hard to find something similar this," said Mr Wei.
He then walked across the bridge, which spanned around 600 metres, to another new attraction in the city, the Hulu Takir beach. This beach is more popularly known amidst locals as "Miami Beach", due to its resemblance to the well known Florida allure.
Mr Wei was once again impressed. He snapped more photos, and took a while to stretch his legs and enjoy the view, as fishermen nearby greeted him with a nod.
He had travelled all this fashion to head to Pulau Redang for a diving trip.
Pulau Redang, just off Kuala Terengganu, every bit well as the Perhentian islands to the northward, are home to some of the world'southward height-ranked swoop and snorkel sites.
Once a sleepy town known just every bit a pit stop for visitors taking ferries to offshore resort islands, Kuala Terengganu has recently developed more tourism offerings in hope of beingness a destination in itself. It is as well gearing up to concenter more foreign investors.
READ: Dreams dashed for Terengganu'south aspiring female gymnasts as state confined them from competitions over attire concerns
In an interview with CNA, Mr Ariffin Deraman, Terengganu'south executive quango chairman for tourism, civilisation and information technology said: "Tourism benefits the locals directly."
"More tourists mean more than jobs, local businesses thrive and income rises. I remember it'due south of import for Terengganu that tourists keep coming."
As function of the state's tourism strategic program, Mr Ariffin is targeting half dozen.v meg inbound tourists annually from the year 2025 onwards. Thus will be 35 per cent more than than the 4.79 million tourists arrivals recorded in 2018.
PAS GOVERNMENT WILL NOT OPPOSE GAMBLING, Alcohol ON CRUISES
To help meet this objective, Mr Ariffin said the government is planning to let vacation cruises from neighbouring cities to finish by the state.
He said that the state government is currently in discussion with luxury prowl operator Seabourn Cruise Line, likewise as other prowl operators he did not place, to make Terengganu a cease in their voyages from Singapore.
He noted that many cruises from Singapore pass through the port city of Klang, on the west declension of peninsula Malaysia. Notwithstanding, he wants Terengganu to offer cruise operators as "a viable alternative" on the east coast, especially those heading from Singapore towards Thailand, Myanmar and Macau.
"Nosotros are working towards allowing these cruises to stop by Terengganu, and the passengers to visit usa. By 2021, god willing, this will exist immune," he said.
The move would be a difference from the state government's religious stance, considering that many of the cruises accept casinos – and gambling is illegal in Terengganu.
Even so, Mr Ariffin said that the state leaders – all of whom are from the Islamic party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) – accept made their assessment and volition approve the cruises to stop past Terengganu for a menstruation of 6 to eight hours.
"The cruises are passing by to explore the beauty of Terengganu. And so what happens inside, similar casino or alcohol consumption that are against Islam, it'southward not really our concern. I personally don't think it's a problem," said the Alor Limbat assemblyman.
"We take received give-and-take that there is no opposition for cruises to come up. To use an analogy, if a traveller drives laissez passer Terengganu and stops by a stall to buy some banana fritters while drinking a bottle of wine in his machine, the auction is fine," he said.
READ: 'I volition never tolerate this': Syed Saddiq on Terengganu's plans to bar women gymnasts from competing
Strange INVESTMENT TO FUND GOVERNMENT PROJECTS
Also tourism, the Terengganu land government is also opening its doors to foreign investment, said the state'southward trade, industrial, regional development and administrative wellbeing executive committee chairman Tengku Hassan Tengku Omar.
He explained that the land was in need of its own investment to fund its ain projects and land expenses. This is in spite of Terengganu receiving RM1.27 billion (Us$306 meg) in 2022 in oil royalty from the federal government, equally announced by the state's chief minister Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar in October.
These payments, widely called oil royalties, are paid to states from which the federal government, through national oil firm Petronas, extracts oil, gas and other petroleum products offshore.
Handing out oil royalties is a difference from the previous federal government's exercise of blocking such payments to opposition-controlled states.
The amount Terengganu has received in 2022 is more five per cent of the annual value of petroleum deposits extracted off the hydrocarbon-rich state.
Nevertheless, Tengku Hassan clarified that the money will accept to be used for deferred or scheduled payments for the state'due south projects, such as the Kuala Terengganu Drawbridge, a new district at Kuala Nerus as well as a water supply venture in the state'due south capital.
"It's quite a difficult time for us because we have to pay for more stuff that nosotros take committed to, including more upcoming projects. Some of the projects we retrieve shouldn't be there in the commencement place but it was commissioned and have been constructed," said the Ladang state assemblyman.
In order to build up their ain capital to govern the state, Tengku Hassan said that he has conducted discussions with foreign investors to pump their money into Terengganu.
He cited an ongoing discussion with an unidentified Dutch oil and gas house to invest between RM3 billion and RM4 billion for a project in the country.
He added that the country has approved a luxury hotel chain from Europe to open a high-end resort most Pulau Redang. Tengku Hassan said no major announcement has been washed, simply he confirmed that the resort will attract high cyberspace worth tourists who are part of a "prestigious international club".
He added that the investments would ultimately benefit the state, but he warned that it would exist some time before these projects would come to fruition.
"These are projects that may have v years to materialise. It volition accept fourth dimension for us to program, commission, and execute. Only it's important for Terengganu because it gives our people jobs and money for the government to fund our projects," said Tengku Hassan.
READ: Preserving Malaysia's traditional houses, one pillar at a fourth dimension
SOME LOCALS WARY OF FOREIGNERS INFLUX
Although the state government has recognised the importance of foreign investment, some locals interviewed by CNA have expressed business near the influx of visitors.
A swoop instructor from Pulau Redang who declined to exist named told CNA that many of his clients, some of whom were from China, dived irresponsibly and would step on and boot corals.
"They do it repeatedly despite being warned by usa not to before the dives. Some of the damage done to corals is irreparable," he said.
"They paid to swoop here, only they did not pay for the right to destroy our corals," he stated.
Another resident, Mr Khairul Anwar Muhd Halim told CNA that inviting foreign companies to invest in oil and gas projects could hateful an influx of foreign engineers and labourers to the land. He said information technology would exist more beneficial for locals if the projects were awarded to Malaysian corporations instead.
"Local corporations similar Petronas, for example, are more probable to hire the people living in the area. So people in Terengganu will be able to find employment and benefit straight," said Mr Khairul Anwar.
Withal, Mr Ariffin, the assemblyman maintained that locals should be "more than welcoming" to strange visitors and not be xenophobic.
"If foreigners damage our corals, they volition be punished. Overall, the visitors have been fine, but if individuals misbehave, information technology'south normal I remember. But nosotros as locals should try to explicate to them and educate them," he said.
Tengku Hassan added that the state government will piece of work to ensure that foreign corporations who win projects volition hire locals.
"(Ensuring jobs go to our locals) is role of our conditions and requirements during the discussion phase with the companies. It's important that nosotros prioritise our own people," he said.
Recent Searches
Trending Topics
brookerwisequed53.blogspot.com
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-terengganu-tourism-miami-beach-drawbridge-cruise-casino-230786
0 Response to "'Miami Beach', casino cruises and iconic drawbridge: Terengganu banks on tourism industry to spur development"
Post a Comment