Kuala Perlis To Be Developed Into Tourist Haven - Chief Minister

KANGAR (Perlis, Malaysia), Feb 13 (Bernama) -- The Perlis government plans to make Kuala Perlis into a tourist haven over a period of five years in an effort to boost tourism in the state. Chief Minister Azlan Man said to achieve this, more infrastructure and amenities would be built so that tourists would be drawn to stay overnigt in Kuala Perlis (second largest town and the main port of Perlis). He said the beach area of Kuala Perlis had the potential to be developed but it required the private sector's involvement by building a theme park, supermarket, hotels, and commercial centres to sell products direct from the factories to tourists. "If all this while, tourists stopped in Kuala Perlis to eat while on their way to or back from Langkawi, they would feel encouraged to stay overnight in Kuala Perlis with the availability of such attractions. "The state government does not want to see the tourism industry which can boost the economy and create employment opportunities to remain as it is now," he said after officiating at the Hotel Brasmana Winter Wonderland Appreciation Night in Kuala Perlis, near here, Wednesday night. He said the plan to develop Kuala Perlis as a tourist destination had been there but the state was facing financial constraints, hence it needed private sector cooperation in this. Azlan said the initial target in the five-year period for visitors to stay overnight in Kuala Perlis was five per cent or 250,000 based on the 5.47 million visitors passing through Kuala Perlis to get to Langkawi Island last year. He said among the measures taken by the state government for Kuala Perlis were upgrading its ferry jetty and putting up more street lights and decorative lights to beautify the area. Earlier, in his speech, Azlan reminded the tourism industry players not be easily satisfied with what they had achieved, but to work harder at coming out with creative and innovative ideas to attract tourists to the state. -- BERNAMA