Published on : Friday, January 25, 2019
“I personally walked around tourist hotspots and discovered these places are flooded with tourists from Europe, Japan, China as well as India.”
“There are also tourists coming to Melaka via Singapore too and arrival statistics should not only be based on the figures from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA),” he stated after meeting with Melaka Tourism Board general manager Zairi Suboh and Melaka Tourism Business Chamber (MTBC) president Chew Chert Fong at Jonker Walk on 24th.
Mohd Khalil was replying to the reports that Melaka tourism had experienced a major drop.
“We respect the views of the people but the figures from Tourism Board indicate that tourism is indeed growing,” he said while emphasizing that homestay operators here are seeing growth in business.
Mohd Khalil said Melaka was a preferred destination because of its rich heritage and friendly locals.
“There are no quarrels here, locals cherish their multi-cultural diversity that existed for decades … the state is also a food haven with unique dishes,” he said.
He also added that much had been done to maintain cleanliness of the historic city.
Also, Mohd Khalil asked the Tourism Board and other related government agencies to work together with non-governmental organizations to improve the tourism industry.