Number of tourist arrivals to Cameron Highlands on the decline

KUANTAN: The number of tourist arrivals to Cameron Highlands has declined by almost 30% since the landslide incident which claimed five lives in Bertam Valley on Nov 5.

Pahang Tourism and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Sharkar Shamsuddin said negative media reports on the influx of illegal immigrants in the area also contributed to the almost 50% decline in the number of bookings for hotels and homestays in Cameron Highlands.

"We were informed by the tourism industry players in Cameron Highlands that the number of visitors, local and foreign, had declined since the landslide incident."

"Many perceived that Cameron Highlands is no longer safe for visits, but it is not true. It is very safe to visit the area because the landslide incident only involved the Bertam Valley," he told reporters at the lobby of the State Assembly Hall here today.

He said according to the statistics, the number of tourist arrivals to Cameron Highlands recorded last year was 728,121 people, while between January and June this year, 328,813 people were recorded to have visited the area.

During the State Assembly sitting earlier, Mohd Sharkar was asked by Leong Ngah Ngah (DAP-Tanah Rata) whether or not Cameron Highlands was currently unsafe for visit as reported in Chinese newspapers.

"I have been asked by reporters whether is it true that Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz has said that Cameron Highlands is currently unsafe."

"I have contacted him (Mohamed Nazri) and he denied it. He told me that there was no way he would make such a statement," Mohd Sharkar said.

At this point, Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob interjected and also denied the report which stated that there were 30,000 immigrants currently working in Cameron Highlands.

"Based on the information we have, there are 11,000 legally registered foreign workers working in Cameron Highlands, while only 2,000 were illegal immigrants," he said. – Bernama