Operators want govt to help promote Teluk Tongkang beach

KUANTAN: The influx of tourists in Pahang is testament to the early signs of success of the Visit Pahang Year 2017 campaign.

However, with large numbers of tourists congregating at famed beach Teluk Chempedak, the adjacent Teluk Tongkang is neglected.

Having worked as a tourist guide at Teluk Tongkang over the past two years, Sheikh Muhammad Qaidhir lamented the untapped potential of the lesserknown beach.

After seeing off a group of tourists yesterday, Muhammad mused that more visitors would visit Teluk Tongkang if the local authorities helped tourist guides there in bids to promote the beach to potential visitors.

Standing within a large grassy area adjacent to Teluk Tongkang, the 26-year-old said he and a few of his tour guide peers themselves had to put in the effort, not only to add equipment for tourist-linked activities, but also to maintain facilities there.

“We have to, at time, use our own money to repair broken roofs (of public seats beside the beach) and non-functioning lights (of the same roofed public seats),” he said, adding that this monthly maintenance could cost up to RM4,000.

When asked whether they had conducted large-scale promotional events to draw more tourists, he said this would require the permission of the Kuantan Town Council (MPK), which he hinted was hard to get.

He said that even if they approached MPK for permission, they were dissuaded by the bureaucratic