Johor has great potential to be a major tourist destination in Malaysia, says MB

ISKANDAR PUTERI: Johor has many tourist centres with huge potential which the state can be proud of, says Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi (pic).

The Mentri Besar said recently, a video went viral on social media questioning the state's tourism sector and that Johor has no interesting places to visit.

“The video highlighted that Johor is boring with many places closed. We accept such views with an open heart.

“But let me share that Johor actually has various treasures and tourist centres with good potential and can be proud of,” he said in his reply to Anuar Abd Manap (BN-Pemanis), Azizul Bachok (BN-Tiram), Datuk Pandak Ahmad (BN-Kota Iskandar), Datuk Mohamad Najib Samuri (BN-Parit Yaani), Amira Aisya Abd Aziz (Muda-Puteri Wangsa), Liow Cai Tung (PH-Johor Jaya) and Ng Yak How (PH-Bentayan) during the state assembly meeting at Bangunan Sultan Ismail in Kota Iskandar on Wednesday (May 15).

Onn Hafiz said Johor has six national parks, theme parks, museums and galleries, many ecotourism sites and international, as well as world-class islands.

He said this clearly showed Johor has many tourism products but the question is whether these attractions meet the expectations of tourists.

“If we accept this question with an open heart, then the answer is not yet,” he said.

Onn Hafiz also said recently, the government held a tourism empowerment workshop where they received feedback on unsatisfactory public transport connectivity, tourist-unfriendly roads and broadband infrastructure problems in rural areas.

“Due to this, the state government plans to outline two main strategies to make the Visit Johor Year 2026 agenda a success. Firstly, we will upgrade the existing tourism infrastructure.

“When the infrastructure has been upgraded, we will then move to promote all these tourism products,” he said, adding that some RM67.6mil has been allocated through the state budget 2024 for the purpose.

The Mentri Besar added that 10 tourism development projects would be completed this year while four tourism upgrading projects by next year.

He said the state government would also implement six marketing and promotion initiatives including tourism promotion campaigns, both domestic and international.

“Johor has great potential in the tourism sector. With its natural beauty, rich cultural heritage and various other tourist attractions, the state can offer a variety of options to tourists.

“I am confident if the two strategies can be implemented properly and thoroughly, the state will be able to become a major tourist destination in Malaysia,” he added.