COVID-19: Melaka develops strategies to protect tourism sector
The state government is developing new strategies to reduce the impact on the tourism sector in Melaka, particularly in the hotel industry, following the cancellation of tourist bookings from China due to the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Chief Minister Adly Zahari said one of the possible initiatives was to focus on the health tourism sector especially among tourists from Indonesia.
He said there were only about 700,000 Indonesian tourists to Melaka including for treatments in private hospital, to date, which could increase to over one million if promotions and attractive packages were offered.
"We have four private hospitals offering health services and they are in high demand among foreign tourists especially at Mahkota Medical Centre, but there is more room available to accommodate the arrival of health tourists in the other three private hospitals.
"We believe that health tourism is the best sub-sector that can be boosted in line with the current situation where health services are needed," he told a press conference after the state executive council meeting here today.
Yesterday, the media reported that the Malaysian Association of Travel and Travel Agents (MATTA) had confirmed the cancellation of about 95,000 hotel bookings in the country as a result of coronavirus outbreaks, citing most of the cancellations were made by visitors from China.
Commenting further, Adly said focus would also be given to attracting domestic tourists to the state especially to increase room bookings or support the hotel industry in Malacca.
He said various programmes or activities could be implemented at the hotel including meetings, conventions and exhibitions including involving government agencies and departments.
"We will also look at large-scale programmes that can be implemented to attract domestic tourists during the COVID-19 outbreak with the cooperation of various parties and take into account the advice of the State Health Department," he said.
-- BERNAMA
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Visitors are provided a window with a "Living Museum" as they keep an exciting look-out for the bustling activities that pulse through the many narrow streets nearby, which are lined with shops, houses and buildings, centuries old.
Within walking distance from Geographer Cafe, history is alive in abundance from Geographer Cafe. The oldest Chinese Temple and Muslim Mosque are located on harmony street, a short stroll away. This beautiful old architecture respond to cultural and spiritual expectations from the glorious past till the present day.
The charm of Malacca is spell-binding and timeless. Its proximity to the riverfront made it the location for settlement and development.
The Baba Nyonya House situated at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock or formerly known as Heeren Street, is one of the most exquisite, displaying a blend of Dutch and Chinese influences. The Babas were called the Straits Chinese or Peranakans. Their culture is derived from Traditional Chinese with Malay influence. They belong to their own unique community and Malacca is the original birthplace of this clan. Their beautiful homes which contains their heritage structure are located a short distance from Geographer Cafe.
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83, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Malacca, Malaysia
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https://geographer.com.my/
Kota Linggi a forgotten place
The area around Kota Linggi and the river mouth is a popular fishing spot while the calm and beautiful waters is a tourist draw. — Bernama
Despite its wealth of history which included the Bugis, Dutch and Melaka Malay Sultanate, Kota Linggi, also known as Kota Bukit Supai, now lies neglected and forgotten.
The local community wants the city, built by the Dutch and the Bugis at the mouth of Sungai Linggi in the 1870s, to be revived as a tourism product.
Salmah Harun, who operates a stall selling kuih muih, said previous efforts by the Melaka Museum Corporation and Alor Gajah District Council to promote the area had failed.
Since then, Salmah, 48, together with the local villagers, have taken the initiative to revive the area by starting small food and drinks businesses catering to tourists. There is also a food court which opens at night.
The Stadhuys building in Melaka is a popular tourist attraction. — Filepic
“The biggest problem we face is the location of this place compared to other places such as Bandar Hilir which is in the middle of Melaka City.
“This place is about 50km away, on the border of Melaka and Negri Sembilan, so it is difficult for tourists to come here.
“One solution is for the tour operators to bring in groups of tourists. The villagers are willing to work with them as it is sad to see the town gone quiet, ” she said.
Based on records, Kota Bukit Supai is also known as Kota Belanda, Kota Meriam Patah and Kota Filipina.
It was a strategic location for the Dutch to monitor the movement of their enemies as well as a site to collect the taxes imposed on tin ore brought from Rembau and Linggi.
History and natural beauty makes Kota Bukit Supai a potential tourism product. — Bernama
In the end, however, the city was neglected after the Dutch left Melaka.
Factory supervisor Tham Zhee Meng, 39, who often goes fishing in the area, said the town was a heritage location.
“It has a high historical value and should be promoted as a tourism attraction as Melaka is rich in history, ” the Rembia resident said.
Tham said the area around the river mouth was also a popular fishing spot while the calm and beautiful waters had the potential to draw tourists there.
Fisherman Abu Bakar Md Piah, 57, said the combination of history and natural beauty made Kota Bukit Supai a potential tourism product.
Kota Linggi was built by the Dutch and the Bugis at the mouth of Sungai Linggi in the 1870s. — Bernama
Melaka Chief Minister Adly Zahari said the state government was looking at rural tourism products like Kota Bukit Supai to attract tourists in conjunction with Visit Malaysia 2020.
He said local and foreign tourists were already familiar with popular locations in Melaka like the Stadthuys, A’Farmosa Fort, St Paul’s Hill and museums in Bandar Hilir.
“We want to have a variety of tourism products in the state which are not just focused in the Bandar Hilir area, but in rural areas such as Kota Bukit Supai, ” he added. — Bernama
No cases of coronavirus in Melaka, but hotels taking precautionary measures
Tourists visiting the Stadthuys Building in Melaka. - Filepic
Major hotels here are taking temperatures of foreign guests and hotel workers as part of precautionary measures in the wake of the novel coronavirus.
Frequent disinfection works were also being carried out in hotels, including the rooms, said Malaysia Association of Hotels (MAH) Melaka Chapter's honorary secretary Jason Bak.
"For instance, Ramada Plaza Melaka Hotel has made it compulsory for hotel workers to wear face masks, as well as providing masks to guests upon request.
"This was a remedial effort embarked by hotels even though Melaka, as a top tourist destination in the country, has not reported any cases of coronavirus," he said in an interview here on Saturday (Feb 1).
Bak said hotels were also placing hand sanitisers in their washrooms, gyms, kitchens and restaurants.
He said all the managers had been told to maintain high hygiene levels and that failure to do so could lead to disciplinary action being taken against them.
Bak said the hotels were making sure that their managers attend daily meetings on the protocol of dealing with the contagion.
"This is to ensure that the hotel staff, from the managers to the cleaners, are aware of what to do in case they think guests or their colleagues have symptoms of viral infection," he said.
Bak added that hotels in Melaka would continue to ensure the safety of guests and workers by working with the state health authorities.
~The Star~
Melaka's iconic red clock tower continues to draw tourists
The 134-year-old iconic red clock tower, located at Dutch Square in Stadthuys here, is one of the main tourist draws.
The chief guard of the clock tower, Fadlina Mohni, 43, said as early as 8 am, local and foreign tourists gather around the 50 feet high clock tower, built in 1886, to take pictures for remembrance sake.
“More commonly known as the Tan Beng Swee Clock Tower, it was built about 61 years after the Dutch surrendered Melaka to the British and it is actually not as old as the Dutch colonial administration building Stadthuys which was built in 1650.
“Now a hundred years old, the clock was never allowed to stop because over the years it has been carefully cleaned, serviced and every component tested to ensure it continues to tick for another 134 years or longer,” he told Bernama at the Stadthuys building here.
Fadlina, who is also the Senior Electrical Engineer, Department of Engineering, Historical Melaka City Council (MBMB) said even more interesting is that the clock tower was also a symbol of family love because it was built by a son who wanted to fulfill his father's request.
She said according to history, the clock tower was built by Tan Jiak Kim, a Peranakan Chinese philanthropist who wanted to fulfill the wishes of his late father Tan Beng Swee who dreamed of a clock tower in the heart of Melaka when he was still alive.
“After Tan Beng Swee’s death, the clock tower was built in the Stadthuys building near Queen Victoria’s Fountain, the Cheng Ho Cultural Museum and Christ Church. Each of the four clock faces with a diameter of 34.5 centimetres (cm) featuring Roman numerals were specially imported from England.
“Then in 1982, the four clocks were replaced with ones from Japan's Seiko brand, much to the chagrin of local senior citizens around Melaka who remembered the harsh treatment and sufferings under the Japanese Occupation,” she said.
Fadlina, who oversees the clock tower, also known as the Bandar Hilir Red Clock Tower, has for the past 17 years hoped that the historic clock tower would continue to be maintained and preserved so that the tourism product could be enjoyed by future generations.
Meanwhile, according to Fadlina’s assistant Mohd Suhaimi Idris, 36, an assistant Electrical and Facilities engineer at MBMB, the 24-volt voltage clock is also equipped with a global positioning system (GPS), to provide the accurate time.
“In collaboration with the Melaka Health Department we installed a predatory bird sound system which plays the sound for 45-seconds with one minute long intervals to prevent crows and pigeons from perching and defecating around the clock tower,” he said.
The hourly striking clock tower is among the core zones recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Melaka as one of the states selected to boost Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM 2020).
-- BERNAMA
Tourist events to go on unless WHO advises otherwise, says DPM
The Deputy Prime Minister said events on a big scale can proceed as usual despite the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak.
“We will see how the situation is. If WHO says we are not allowed to have big gatherings then we will issue statements or directives, ” she told a press conference on Wednesday (Jan 29) after visiting the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre here.
She said this when asked if the government intends to restrict Thaipusam celebrations next weekend in Batu Caves, which will be visited by both local and international visitors.
Dr Wan Azizah said the 2019-nCoV virus outbreak is under control and reminded people not to spread false or fake news that can cause uneasiness.
She said 57 hospitals are available for screenings, out of which, 26 have been identified to handle the suspected cases that need further examination and treatment.
Earlier, Dr Wan Azizah held a meeting with several ministries and agencies to discuss the virus situation in the country.
She said among the things agreed in the meeting include enhancing the screening of travellers from China by having a special lane for them.
She also said those with 2019-nCoV symptoms are advised to get themselves checked, especially if they had just returned from China.
Earlier Wednesday, the Health Ministry confirmed three more cases, bringing the total number of such cases to seven.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said two out of the three new cases were from the Patient-Under-Investigation (PUI) group.
Meanwhile, one case was from close contact with infected patients.
All the seven who tested positive are Chinese nationals.
~The Star~
VM2020: 3.2 mln museum visitors expected, 131 events planned
The Department of Museums Malaysia (JMM) is targeting 3.2 million visitors to 22 museums across the country in conjunction with Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM2020).
Secretary-General of the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, Datuk Dr Noor Zari Hamat said he was confident that the target could be achieved through the various programmes and activities planned by JMM.
He said the number of visitors to the museums last year increased by 18.2 per cent to 2.7 million from 2.3 million in 2018.
He added that through the exhibitions held, sale of entrance tickets, book sales and space rental throughout 2019, JMM collected RM3.7 million in revenue compared to RM2.6 million in 2018.
“I see museums as a very big product which we can use to attract people of other countries to visit Malaysia. Therefore, with regard to museums, innovations and creativity are very important,” he said after opening ‘The Lost Kingdoms’ and ‘Enchanting Malaysia’ exhibitions, as well as JMM’s Calendar of Events 2020 at Muzium Negara, here, today.
Meanwhile, JMM director-general Datuk Kamarul Baharin A. Kasim, in his speech, said the department had planned 131 programmes as tourism products in line with the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030.
He said among the programmes were the Paranormal, Snake and Gold exhibitions, besides JMM’s signature programmes, such as ‘Nostalgia Anak Kampung and ‘Denai Malam’.
“All these will give a new life to the era of museums in the country as outlined in the National Policy on Museums 2020.
The ‘Lost Kingdoms’ exhibition runs from last Dec 4 until this April 30 and the ‘Enchanting Malaysia’ exhibition from last Dec 25 to May 23, 2020.
For more information on JMM’s events and programmes, the public can visit www.jmm.gov.my
-- BERNAMA
