JOHOR TO CREATE NEW PACKAGES TO ATTRACT TOURISTS

From Frank Julian Martin

BATAM, Indonesia, Feb 18 (Bernama) -- Johor will create new tourism packages that offer competitive prices to attract more tourists to the state.

Johor is situated in the southernmost state in Peninsular Malaysia, being
south of Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang and north of Singapore, from which
it is separated by the Straits of Johor.

State executive councillor for Tourism and Domestic Trade Hoo Seong Chang
said this had to be done in view of the present global economic slowdown which
prompted tourists to be more choosy and thrifty in selecting their destinations.

"We will either create new packages or review and make some changes to all
the present ones to attract tourists in the expectation that the present
economic slowdown would have some impact on our tourism industry," he said.

Hoo told Indonesian and Malaysian reporters this at a mini travel mart at a
hotel here Tuesday attended by more than 200 tourism industry players from
Batam and Johor.

Hoo said he would visit tourism destinations in Johor beginning April to see
what improvements could be made to attract more tourists.




Meanwhile, Johor Tourism Action Council general manager A.Jabar Md Tahir
said the mini travel mart would create a win-win situation for Johor and Batam.

Johor is targeting to attract tourists coming to Batam, which is the gateway
to other parts of Indonesia such as Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya.

"We are targeting to increase the tourist arrivals from 15,000 to 25,000 per
month from Batam," he said.

Likewise, Batam was targeting to attract more local and foreign tourists
from Johor, he said.

-- BERNAMA