Caption Tourism Johor director Sharil Nizam Abdul Rahim (fourth from left) with Johor Tourist Guides Association chairman Jimmy Leong (third from left) and other state tourism players launching the Johor Baru central business district heritage walk here in Johor Baru on Sunday (Feb 25).
JOHOR BARU: More than 16 million foreign tourists visited Johor in 2023, with the bulk of them being Singaporeans.
Tourism Johor director Sharil Nizam Abdul Rahim said with such positive numbers, the state has set a target of attracting more than 20 million foreign tourists this year.
“We have six tourism segments that have been key in getting foreign tourists to come to Johor, which are ecotourism, and sports, medical, education, historical and gastronomy tourism,” he said after launching Johor Baru central business district heritage walk programme here yesterday.
He added that Tourism Johor would be working closely with relevant bodies and agencies to strengthen the state’s tourism sector.
According to records from the Immigration Department, more than 13 million Singaporeans visited Johor last year.
This was followed by 1.2 million Indonesians, 319,506 Chinese tourists, 309,431 Filipinos, 223,569 Indian tourists, and 192,796 European tourists.
Sharil Nizam also said Tourism Johor will continue to promote Johor Baru to Singaporeans to ensure that the state capital is not just a pitstop for them to spend a few hours in, but rather as one of their main destinations.
He said the agency has several packages that are popular with tourists from the island republic.
“Some people say that Singaporeans only use Johor Baru as a stop or enroute to other locations, or only shop here, but we have an initiative for them to stay more than a day.
“Among them are efforts to conserve iconic buildings in the state as well as organising attractive holiday package schedules for them, so tourists who follow these packages will spend the night here,” he added.
Sharil Nizam said the fall in the value of the ringgit against the Singapore dollar should be seen in a positive light, especially for the tourism sector in Johor.
“It can be an advantage and we use the situation as best as we can. We can do more promotions at the international level and attract more foreign tourists with attractive holiday packages.
“One of the tourism segments that can be promoted is health tourism. Currently, the majority of health tourists who come to Johor are Indonesian nationals, so maybe we can also attract Singaporeans.
“There are many medical specialists with hospitals that are of international standard, so with the fall of the ringgit it will certainly be an additional attraction for them to seek treatment in this state,” he said.
Sharil Nizam also said that as part of efforts to prepare for Visit Johor Year 2026, Tourism Johor would monitor all tourism upgrading projects that have received state government allocations.
He added that all tourism project developments will be reported directly to Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, who holds the state’s tourism portfolio following the recent state exco reshuffle.
Sharil Nizam said among the tourism centres that were being upgraded are the Johor Zoo and the National Park.
“This is a new responsibility for Tourism Johor. We must be aware of the tourism upgrading projects taking place here.
“Our job is to promote the products of other agencies and we have to know when the projects involved will be ready to empower Johor’s tourism sector.”
