Spearheading tourism in Johor

05 July 2010 , By The Star

Johor is regarded as an important gateway for the country. It accounts for about half the total number of tourist arrivals into the country. In 2009, Malaysia received 23.6 million foreign tourists. Nelson Benjamin and Austin Camoens talk to Johor state tourism chairman Hoo Seong Chang on efforts of the Johor Tourism Department to promote the state.

Q: You have been the state tourism chairman for the past two years, can you elaborate on what has been done in terms of projects and publicity to promote the state as a tourist destination?

A: When I assumed this portfolio, it took me at least two months to digest and understand it. The first six months was spent trying to identify certain areas. I also decided to visit all the districts to set up a tourist information centre, equipped with maps, for travellers. I also sat down with travel agents through Matta and came up with new holiday packages to promote the state in Pontian, Johor Baru, Kota Tinggi and Mersing. All these areas have their own unique niche in terms of flora and fauna, beaches, islands and even heritage. We should also not forget Nusajaya as we also plan to have a spot in Kota Iskandar selling souvenirs, crafts and shopping.

Q: You mentioned about tourist information centres. Where are they located?

A: We have centres in at least five districts mainly Pontian, Kota Tinggi, Mersing, Muar and Johor Baru. We are also looking at setting up the centres in Kluang, Batu Pahat and Segamat. Through these centres, we hope to promote tourism in the state and each centre will be headed by the district officer as the cost of running these centres will be handled by the respective districts. The state government only comes in when necessary. It is also important for these centres to be located strategically especially in places with a lot of people such as bus or taxi terminals, jetties or even in the heart of town like in Jotic building in Johor Baru.

Q: There is talk about each state having to create tourist icons. Can you elaborate on this initiative?

A: We have identified nine pillars of tourism including ecotourism, agrotourism, culture, heritage, food, shopping, golf, islands, beaches, sports, health tourism and meeting, incentive, conference, exhibition (MICE). This is how we are packaging our tourism products for Johor.

Q: The Johor Tourism Department has been criticised in the past. Even the Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar has said more should be done to promote the state’s tourism products. Are you happy with the level of performance from the State Tourism Department?

A: There is still room for improvement and surely everyone will continue to work harder to improve. To be fair, the department has been working hard but there is only so much that can be done with 17 staff. Anyway, we are doing our best to increase our manpower so we can serve better.

Q: What are the events planned for the year?

A: We have identified at least 13 events. There will also be other events from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), clubs and associations. Some of our major events include our on-going Johor Arts Festival, Rain Forest Challenge and International Scrabble tournament. We are also hoping to develop Nusajaya as a new destination and product including surrounding areas such as Puteri Habour and in future, Lego Land Theme Park.

Q: Many people feel that there is nothing much in Johor and as such they prefer to drive to Malacca and Penang. How are we going to lure tourists to Johor?

A: I do not totally agree with this as many tourists are coming through Johor and do stop by in the state before moving on. The market here is big for Singaporeans, Indonesian and Chinese tourists. Last year, we went with Matta to China for the travel fair. During that time, we managed to secure a flight full of Chinese to come over to Johor via Senai Airport through a chartered flight. We will look into promoting this type of travel further. We are also trying to promote our diving and snorkelling attractions and also golf packages to international tourists.

Q: The Johor Tourism Action Council has been dissolved for some time. Why was this done and what is the role of Jabatan Pelancongan Johor?

A: The State Tourism Action Council changed to Jabatan Pelancongan Johor as it was a directive from the Tourism Ministry.

Q: Many government departments always complain about funding. For a state which is raking in billions in foreign investments, why is this a problem especially for tourism? Are you getting any assistance from the Federal Government on this matter?

A: Our annual budget is RM2.5mil but we are doing our best to carry out our activities with the budget received. Funding will always be most important especially with regards to advertising and promotions. Federal grants are only made available for upgrading infrastructure, but state government is the main source of funding. So far, Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman has been helpful and we have told him about our constraints and hope to get more funds in future.

Q: What about Federal Government Linked Companies (GLCs) such as Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) or Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB). Can they be roped in to sponsor tourism activities?

A: They have collaborated with us before for the International Johor Gold Open and international Scrabble festival last year. We will continue working with them in organising tourist-based events in future.

Q: Singapore’s casinos opened their doors recently. How are we trying to lure people from there to come and visit Johor? Do we have a plan for this?

A: We have already started talking to restaurants and hotels. Definitely the accommodation in Johor is much cheaper and as such, people going to Singapore will want to stay here and travel to the island. We are also carrying out tourism programmes to promote Johor by taking part in travel fairs held there.

Q: We have nature’s attractions like waterfalls and islands. How are you going to promote these places?

A: We have brochures on the nine pillars of tourism but brochures alone are not enough. Promotions are necessity. That’s where tourism events come to play, we need publicity especially in the media. Other events held to promote these places include having the World Migratory Bird Day at Parit Jawa last year where the competition attracted international photographers to come to Muar to snap beautiful pictures. Such events will create a buzz and that is what we want. Promotions are important and with a constant flow of funds we can launch a plan to promote tourism here. We also acknowledge everyone’s role in promoting tourism and that is why we have an annual tourism award which has seven categories and 17 awards. This is our recognition for the industry players.

Q: What about calls from certain quarters for a survey to be done on what tourists like or dislike about Johor. Has such a thing been done before?

A: There has been no such survey done so far. We will request the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) to help us in this. MBJB recently announced that it plans to come up with a food guide for Johor Baru. We will surely work with them to develop tourism in the city.