By Suhaila Shahrul Annuar
KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 — Selangor is confident that it would be able to attract over 3.5 million tourists to the state by the end of the year, says Hee Loy Sian.
The state executive councillor for tourism said this is driven by the high trend of foreign tourists visiting the country, especially from Japan, China, Korea, and Taiwan.
“They choose Malaysia, particularly Selangor, because of the appealing eco-tourism attractions we offer here, such as 'Sky Mirror' and the fireflies of Kampung Kuantan in Kuala Selangor.
“In addition, the Community Forest programme can attract not only domestic but also foreign tourists, and we will undertake various initiatives, such as improving hiking trails,” he said when met after hiking in Bukit Ketumbar Forest, which stands at a height of 300 metres, together with over 30 hiking communities from around Taman Cheras here, today.
Hee said that the luxury cruise tourism segment at the Port Klang Cruise Terminal (PKCT) is also showing positive development with the arrival of visitors reaching 350,000 in December last year.
“Before the pandemic, we received over 500,000 visitors who disembarked from cruise ships and travelled around Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
“It is expected that this year, the number of visitors in that segment will exceed 500,000.
“In our efforts to boost tourism in Selangor, we will add more activities, not only exhibitions but also sports events to attract visitors to come to Selangor and shop here,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hee said that the state government plans to transform Bukit Ketumbar Forest in Taman Cheras, here, into a community forest, making it the latest attraction for tourism in Selangor.
He said the move is to enable recreational activities such as hiking to be continued by the hiking community in the area.
“I came here to conduct a survey regarding complaints received about hiking activities here. We have decided to allow them to continue hiking activities but with the condition of establishing a registered community with the Registry of Societies of Malaysia.
“After establishing the registered community, they can apply to make it a community forest that will be supervised by the Forestry Department.
“We want to create a concept similar to that of Kota Damansara Community Forest to ensure that this area is not exploited or destroyed. Selangor has many attractive destinations, and Bukit Ketumbar Forest is one of them,” he said.
Hee said that said the plan to turn Bukit Ketumbar Forest into a community forest is expected to be implemented before the end of the year.
“A community forest can also become a new tourist attraction for tourists from within and outside the country. We will improve the hiking trails for the comfort of the visitors,” he added.
