More than 67 tourism players and members of the media from Singapore, Indonesia and the Middle East participated in the Xplore Melaka – The Unesco World Heritage City 2009 programme to boost the tourism industry here recently.
The four-day programme was organised by Tourism Malaysia to introduce new and upgraded tourism products to local and regional players.
Tourism Malaysia state director Ahmad Yahaya Al-Jahsyi said the programme was aimed at increasing the number of tourists to Malacca and getting them to stay longer.
“Tourists spend an average of 1.8 days in Malacca and we hope to increase this to two or three days,” he said after the programme’s closing ceremony.
During their stay, the participants were exposed to many tour packages and given details on Malacca’s core and buffer Unesco heritage zones.
They visited Taming Sari Revolving Tower, Eye On Malaysia, Seafarer Sunset Cruise, Homestay Kampung Ayer Limau and Malacca Arab City on reclaimed Pulau Melaka.
RiauTV cameraman Fithriady Syam, 36, from Pekan Baru, Indonesia, said the programme was a success as it highlighted the city’s tourism products and gave participants a taste of village life.
“We visited a number of rural and modern places, and I believe the programme can attract more visitors from Riau,” he said, adding that he took a 45-minute flight by Riau Airlines from Pekan Baru to Malacca International Airport.
Malacca attracted more than 6.8 million tourists last year and hopes to lure 7.2 million visitors this year. By Chen Pelf Yeen