Plans afoot to transform Mersing into Caribbean of the East

JOHOR BARU: Plans are already in the pipeline to develop and transform the laid-back Mersing district, located on the north-east of Johor, about 130km from here, into the Caribbean of the East.

Johor Tourism, Trade and Consumerism Committee chairman Datuk Tee Siew Kiong said the district, blessed with natural richness, had the potential to become one of the leading regional tourist destinations.

He said the state government would look at Thailand and the Maldives which capitalised on sun, sea and sand to lure tourists.

“We are banking on Mersing’s rich flora and fauna and eco-tourism as the district’s selling points,” he said.

He noted that the Mersing district, located amongst 40 unspoiled islands off the South China Sea and the 200 million-year-old Endau-Rompin National Park, had the right ecosystem to become a regional tourism draw.

Tee was speaking to reporters yesterday after the opening of the RM30mil, 200-room, three-star V8 Hotel at Taman Nusa Bestari here.

He also said he had just returned from a working visit with State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Abd Latif Bandi as well as Mersing and Kota Tinggi district officers to meet tourism players in the Maldives.

“Its tourism industry is largely driven by the private sector with the island resort operators there working closely to attract tourists from all over the world,” said Tee.

Maldives, he said, received 1.6 million foreign tourists annually who enjoyed diving, snorkelling, deep-sea fishing and islandhopping, and 50% of the visitors were from China.

He added that foreign tourists to Maldives were big spenders and willing to pay for room rates starting from US$500 (RM2,045) per night.

Tee said officials from the state tourism department had also visited Phuket, Krabi and Phi Phi Island in Thailand to study their ways of putting Thai tourism on the map.

“We will continue with promotional efforts to attract more visitors to Mersing.

“With its rich marine habitat, we want to position Mersing as one of the diving spots in the world,” he said.