15 MILLION TOURISTS EXPECTED IN 2014

15 million tourists expected in Malacca

   

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MALACCA: The state expects 15 million domestic and foreign tourist arrivals this year, 1.5 million more than last year.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron said he was confident that the target could be achieved with Tourism Malaysia’s Visit Malaysia 2014 programmes planned for this year.

“We are upbeat about meeting the goal, based on the 13.5 million arrivals in 2013, in spite of the earlier estimated arrivals of 13 million,” he said after presenting hampers and ang pow to the elderly, single mothers and the less fortunate in conjunction with Chinese New Year at the International Trade Centre here yesterday.

A total of 165 recipients received ang pow of RM100 each, hampers, packets of rice and oranges.

Idris said the government would ensure that hotels and homestay lodges in the state get 20,000 rooms ready over the next three years to meet the growing demands of the tourism sector.

“Currently, hotels and homestays can only provide 7,500 rooms to domestic and foreign tourists,” he said.

He said with the support of the Federal Government and the increasing number of investors in the industry, Malacca was poised to maintain its attractiveness as a global tourist centre and become one of the main destinations during VMY 2014.

MELAKA ELECTRIC BUS TRIALS

Melaka's electric bus to begin trial service on Wednesday

Melaka’s first electric bus will hit the streets on Wednesday in Bandar Hilir area as part of a trial service for three months, said Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron.

He said the service was free for users during the duration of the trial as a promotion exercise, and also to study the most suitable routes and reasonable fare rates for the journey.

He said the electric bus that operates under the state government subsidiary, Panorama Melaka Sdn Bhd, will take the route through historical areas and tourist attractions in Bandar Hilir such as the Stadhuys Building, Heroes Square, Bukit Senjuang, Mahkota Parade and Kota Laksamana.

“Once we are able to access suitable routes we will determine how many buses we will use in the future, for the time being we will start with one,” he told reporters after test driving the bus in Seri Negeri here, Monday.

He said the bus which costs RM1.35 million, adopts green technology from China and can travel as far as 300 km before needing a recharge and can accommodate a maximum of 60 passengers at a time.

“The state government will also create a ‘soft policy’ where, any vehicle using green technology will be allowed to pass through the heritage areas especially in front of the Porta de Santiago (A-Famosa) and the Declaration of Independence Memorial building,” said Idris.