INCIDENT WON’T TURN TOURISTS AWAY: TOURISM ASSOCIATION
Kuala Lumpur Tourism Association president Syed Azhar Syed Nadzir told CNA that it has not seen any effect on tourism in the city, although he expected that fewer visitors would go to the Jalan Masjid India area.
“We don’t see any cancellations on our booking platforms. Now is the summer holidays and is considered to be the high season. We are confident that all these bookings will materialise,” he said.
“I believe that tourists won’t cancel their booking just because of this incident. We do have incidents such as landslides occurring once in a while for example but that doesn’t turn tourists away.”
Likewise, president of Malaysia’s tourism council and inbound travel association Uzaidi Udanis said bookings have not decreased in the aftermath of the incident.
“I engage with my foreign counterparts every day and there hasn’t been much said about the particular incident,” he said
Tourists would still go to other parts of the city, said Mr PT Hariyadurai, a licensed tour guide.
“The area is for tourists from the Indian and Indonesian markets mainly because there are a lot of items for them to purchase there.
“Of course there will be an impact on the area for now, and it will take time for it to recover,” said Mr Hariyadurai, whose firm Skyrise Travel and Tours deals mainly with the international market.
“We are not encouraging our clients to go to the area for now and divert them to other areas of the city such as Bukit Bintang.”
