March 1, 2007
JOHOR BARU - MORE than 120,000 visitors crossed the Causeway to Johor daily during the Chinese New Year (CNY) holidays.
Most of them were Singaporeans who visited Malaysia for the day to eat and shop over the festive period.
Also, an average 70,000 tourists arrived through the Causeway daily in the first two months of this year.
State Tourism and Environment Committee chairman Freddie Long
said this was an increase of more than 50 per cent compared to the same
period last year. He added that the tourists have brought in a daily
revenue of about RM7 million (S$3 million), or RM400 million since the
start of this year.
'The increase in tourists shows that they are confident of the
security and safety in our state despite the reported crime cases in
the media,' he said. 'Tourist arrivals did not decrease significantly during the
second wave of floods, but it has definitely picked up since then,' he
added, at a press conference. The president of the Malaysian Association of Hotels' Johor
chapter, Mr John Roozemond, said hotels in the state had recorded an
impressive occupancy rate so far this year, with more bookings slated
for March to October.
Johor Tourist Guides Association (JTGA) chairman Jimmy Leong
said an average of 20 to 30 tour coaches had crossed into Johor from
Singapore daily since the start of this year, and this rose to between
80 and 100 on weekends and public holidays.
He said that a government decision to stop heavy vehicles,
including tour coaches, from using the Causeway next year is expected
to hurt the tourism sector.
'Coaches using the Causeway will take 45 minutes but the time will increase threefold if they are forced to use the Second Link.
'There should be a review on the proposed ban or tourism will be badly affected,' he said.
NEW STRAITS TIMES, THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Johor sees more CNY visitors from across Causeway
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