Kelantan should optimise tourism allocation in 2018 Budget

JELI: Kelantan, which is still behind in tourism, should take advantage of the RM3.5 billion allocation for tourism in the 2018 Budget to develop the state's tourism industry.
Kelantan Federal Action Council chairman Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the state's tourism industry had potential to develop, but was hampered due to lack of international-standard facilities and new tourism products.
"The tourism sector is one economic branch that can provide fast and high returns that can help boost economy in the state, like in Sabah, Malacca and Penang," he said.
Mustapa, who is Minister of International Trade and Industry, told reporters this after launching a programme to Empower Members of the Health Clinic Advisory Panel and Kelantan Hospitals' Visitors Boards at the Jeli campus of Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, here today.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, when tabling the 2018 Budget last Friday, said that the federal government was allocating RM3.5 billion to further boost the country's tourism industry.

"RM3.5 billion is a huge allocation. We want Kelantan to also take part in developing its tourism infrastructure, as well as new products to attract more tourists, especially for Visit Malaysia Year 2020," he said.
Meanwhile, Mustapa said about 1,000 members of the hospital visitors' board and panel of advisors for health clinics in the country would be mobilised to help explain government policies, especially concerning health, to the people.
"This includes the health subsidy provided by the federal government which many people do not know about," he added. — Bernama