Calls to promote outskirt tourism in Johor

Natural beauty: Pulau Kukup National Park in Pontian is one of the largest inhabited mangrove islands in the world.

JOHOR BARU: It is high time that attractions on the outskirts be highlighted in Johor, say tourism industry players.

Malaysia Tour Guides Association president Jimmy Leong said the tourism industry in Johor needed to be restructured to not only focus on artificial attractions in the city.

He cited Muar, Batu Pahat and Kluang as having great potential to succeed as tourism draws.

“People like to get back to places with a retro atmosphere, old coffee shops and street food rather than just malls.

“We also need to get back to heritage and culture as a form of interest to attract visitors, now that we are mostly depending on local tourists,” he said.

Malaysian Association of Hotels Johor chapter chairman Ivan Teo echoed the view, adding that local travellers should be taken to see the outskirts.

“We need to focus on domestic travellers as it is not likely that borders will be reopened anytime soon.

“Previously, we were too focused on tourism activities in Johor Baru city centre due to the high number of visitors we received from Singapore but that has now changed and we need to cater to the locals.”

Teo hopes the government would step in to assist small businesses, especially those on the outskirts, to survive.

“Our tourism industry is heavily reliant on these businesses which include shops, cafes and street food vendors,” he said.

“It is important to keep these businesses alive so that travellers will have places to drop by when they visit Johor.”

Tan Kian Hui, 29, who owns a homestay in Kukup, Pontian, said almost half the shops around the area had closed due to the economic impact of the pandemic and border closure.

“If this continues, people will not have a place to go when they visit here. Even now, my visitors have limited options for places to have meals and to shop.

Muhamad Afiq Haziq Abdul Rahim, who owns a homestay in Sawah Ring, Tangkak, said the tourism industry could see an improvement this year.

“Last year, we only started to see people travelling after the interstate travel restrictions were lifted in June. This means that we only had half the year to get visitors.

“However, I believe that will not be the case this year, especially as most people have now been fully vaccinated,” he said.