Glamping soon to be new tourist draw in Melaka's Pulau Besar

Pulau Besar is the largest island in Malacca State.

MELAKA: Glamping will soon be a new eco-tourism attraction in Melaka's Pulau Besar.

Glamping is a glamorous style of camping with amenities and, in some cases, resort-style services not usually associated with "traditional" camping.

State Tourism, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis said the first such tourist attraction in Melaka, to be developed at a cost of RM1mil, was expected to be realised by June.

"The initial work to clean up about 200 metres of the coast at Pantai Laguna on the island for the glamping site has been carried out in collaboration with the Melaka Islands Development Council (MPPM)," he told reporters after officiating the Pulau Besar New Year Challenge 2022 event here on Saturday (Jan 29).

Also present was MPPM Chief Executive Officer Azhar Yaacob.

Muhammad Jailani said with the RM1mil allocation and the cooperation of MPPM and the State Economic Planning Unit (UPEN), the development of the tourist attraction would take into account the conservation of the marine ecosystem, especially the mangrove forests in the area.

He added that with the concept of such tourism, especially in Pulau Besar, which was rich in history and has interesting landscapes, Melaka's target of achieving 5.6 million tourist arrivals this year could be achieved.

"For that, I will have a meeting with Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri on the assistance needed (by us) next week," he said.

The Pulau Besar New Year Challenge 2022 was participated by 120 participants who had to completed four challenges in teams, namely running, extreme cycling, kayaking and wall climbing.

"Despite having to limit participation to comply with the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) set, the curtain-opening event to introduce tourism activities in the island received overwhelming response.

"We hope the National Security Council (MKN) can relax the SOP a little more so that tourism activities can be boosted again," said Jailani. - Bernama