Drawing more tourists to Perak

Representatives from various sectors in the tourism industry at the declaration of intent ceremony. Pic by Farhan Najib

IPOH: To enhance the tourism industry in Perak,  a Joint Tourism Consultative Council has been formed with 11 founding members signing  the declaration of intent in a ceremony here recently. Among the signatories were representatives from tour agents, hotels, tourist guides, and operators in the homestay and heritage sectors.

Perak Tourism Association (PTA) chairman Mohd Odzman Abdul Kadir said the council was not another tourist organisation, but a forum to receive feedback from private and public sectors. "At present, the private sector is carrying out their own promotions, while the government has its own plans, " he told reporters after the signing ceremony at the Lost World Hotel in Tambun here. The event was witnessed by Tourism Ministry Perak director Syahruddin Abdul Hamid.

The council is aimed at encouraging the numerous non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to work with the government to develop detailed plans to put Perak on the tourist map. "We must be well-informed about the interest of each particular group of tourists. "We cannot go in blindly to promote everything.

"In future, more NGOs and government departments and agencies related to the tourism industry will be part of the council. "We feel the private sector can contribute more profitably if it is involved in the planning of programmes and budgets. "Furthermore, constructive comments should be made at the meeting table, if the plans are to be viable," said Odzman.

He said the setting up of the council will enable the sharing of information, which is vital for it to work. "It will also encourage communication and networking among the stakeholders and the community," he said. He noted that Perak had huge tourism potential, but it could only be realised through joint efforts of the players, authorities and members of the community.

Meanwhile, PTA forwarded a working paper to Tourism Perak on the setting up of an observatory. This is a mechanism in which a centre collects data from various organisations on tourist arrivals.

This is to identify the number of visitors, their country of origin, age and special interests. "We hope to start the ball rolling in January next year," said Odzman. The observatory was proposed by European Union, with officers sent to France to study the system.

-nst online.