JOHOR BARU: The long weekend and school holidays have brought a surge of visitors to Johor, giving hotels, resorts and attractions a welcome boost in business.
Malaysia Budget Hotels Association (MyBHA) Johor chapter chairman Jarod Chia said budget hotels across the state were recording very good occupancy rates.
He said a large portion of the guests were domestic tourists who are taking advantage of the break to spend quality time with their families and friends.
“The occupancy rate for budget hotels is very good this time, with many of them being domestic tourists.”
He said the hot weather did not deter travellers, adding that the strong demand was a positive sign for the local economy.
“Budget hotels in areas like Iskandar Puteri, Mount Austin, Skudai and Johor Baru are among those seeing good take-up rates.”
Mersing Tourism Association secretary Ahmad Firdaus Shaik Omar said traffic congestion had been reported on roads leading into the town over the past few days.
He said many hotels and resorts, including those on the islands, received good booking rates, while island-hopping boat operators also enjoyed brisk business.
A steady stream of visitors, both locals and foreigners, were seen taking the ferry from Mersing jetty to Tioman island, he added.
Ahmad Firdaus said the newly launched Mersing Marine Gallery was also attracting a high number of visitors, while the Mersing Kite Festival, held over the weekend as part of the National Day celebrations, helped to draw more tourists to the town.
He said the encouraging response showed that the combination of public holidays, school breaks and tourism activities could help generate more business for local tourism operators.
A Desaru resort’s executive said the resort was experiencing good occupancy as families took advantage of the extended break.
“We are still expecting walk-in bookings, with many Malaysians preferring to make last-minute holiday travel plans to enjoy a break and spend quality time bonding with their families.”
She said the current hot weather had not deterred guests from travelling to Desaru, with the resort’s beach and swimming pools providing options for visitors to cool down.
