IPOH: Maintenance and upgrading work conducted at some tourist attractions in the state during Visit Perak Year 2024 is unavoidable, says Loh Sze Yee.
The Perak tourism committee chairman said he understood that visitors may be disappointed at not being able to visit some of these locations, but it is imperative the works continue.
"Locations like the Ipoh Town Hall or the state museum, we can just let these be for now so that people can visit them,” said Loh.
He however added that he feels that it is a short-sighted approach as these buildings need to be looked after in the long run.
Loh said this at a press conference after the ground-breaking ceremony for the M Hill Hotel project in Greentown on Thursday (Feb 22).
"We may not know what will happen in a few years' time, as disasters or untoward incidents could occur. We take the responsible approach to upgrade these buildings as we need to ensure visitors' safety," he said.
Loh added that there is also no guarantee that there will be money available in next year's budget if the work is not done this year.
He had been asked about some grouses from visitors about the closure of some tourist locations due to maintenance work.
He said it would not have mattered when the Visit Perak Year campaign would be held as there were a lot of historical buildings in the state that have not been properly maintained.
"We will have various issues every year. It does not matter which year is Visit Perak Year, we need to maintain these premises," he said.
