Surge in foreign tourists visiting S'gor in lead-up to VSY 2025
From left: Amirudin and Ng visiting a booth at the Sekinchan Padi Field Festival 2025.
SELANGOR is experiencing a shift in its tourism landscape as international visitors begin to form a larger part of the state's tourist arrivals.
According to state local government and tourism committee chairman Datuk Ng Suee Lim, the ratio of international to domestic tourists was previously 30:70.
'But by 2024, we successfully broke that pattern.
'Now, international tourists make up a larger share of visitors.
'This a positive sign for Selangor's growing global appeal,' he said.
Ng said that while the momentum was encouraging, Sekinchan faced one major hurdle – the lack of four-star hotels for the rising number of higher-spending tourists.
He was speaking to reporters at Sekinchan Padi Field Festival 2025 in the Sabak Bernam district.
The state government had aimed to draw some 13,000 visitors to the two-day event.
Held at Terminal Sekinchan, the festival was the first of its kind in Malaysia and had been held in support of Visit Selangor Year (VSY) 2025.
(From left) Saipolyazan, Ng and Chua answering media queries at the festival.
'This festival was created to let visitors enjoy the beauty of agro-tourism in northern Selangor, a region that produces the most rice in Malaysia and is rich in natural beauty that you can't find in modern cities,' said Ng.
The festival was launched by Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
Held from 7am to 7pm over two days, it featured a variety of family-friendly and cultural activities.
Among first day highlights were electric tram and rickshaw tours through padi fields, a food festival, traditional kite (wau kapal) demonstrations, a mini kite decoration competition and a live performance by Malaysian singer-songwriter Aizat Amdan.
The second day offered even more attractions, which included a padi field run, free health screenings and environmental volunteer activities.
The festival was part of the VSY2025 campaign that aimed to draw 8 million visitors and generate RM11.7bil in tourism- related transactions.
To support these goals, the Selangor Budget 2025 has allocated RM8mil for VSY2025 preparations.
These include programming and upgrading tourism facilities across all nine districts.
In the works are over 100 programmes and initiatives covering educational tourism, sports, food and beverage, arts, culture and heritage.
Also present during the festival press conference were Menteri Besar Incorporated chief executive officer Saipolyazan M. Yusop and Tourism Selangor chief executive officer Chua Yee Ling.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
A West Kalimantan road trip that gives off Malaysian vibes
Like many Sarawakians, I took advantage of the long Gawai Dayak holidays from June 1 to 4 to make a trip across the border to West Kalimantan. Instead of heading for the provincial capital of Pontianak, as many usually do, my group of friends packed into a four-wheel drive and travelled the other way. We took the Pan-Borneo Highway west towards Lundu. We crossed the border in Biawak-Aruk, a far less travelled route with shorter queues than the main Tebedu-Entikong crossing. Our destination was Singka-wang, the second-largest city in West Kalimantan. The journey took the whole morning along a smooth, well-paved if narrow two-lane highway past kampung houses and jungles interspersed with oil-palm estates and coconut groves. We made a lunch stop in Sambas, home to an ancient sultanate, and passed through smaller townships, such as Pemangkat and Selakau, before reaching Singkawang. Kuching-registered cars seem-ed to be clogging the city streets. Major hotels were packed with Sarawak holidaymakers. Singkawang seems transformed compared with my last visit more than a decade ago. It is likely the only Indonesian city of any size where nearly half of the residents are of Chinese ancestry. This is evident in the proliferation of Chinese temples in town and on its outskirts. Mosques and churches are also prominent in Singkawang, reflecting its multiracial population and lending the place a feel reminiscent of Malaysian cities. This heady racial mix was not without its problems. At the turn of the century, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis, ugly tensions erupted between local Dayaks and migrants from Madura, resulting in many deaths. Earlier, communist-inspired uprisings spread across the border into Sarawak. Gold-mining Hakka kongsi gave rise to the declaration of the Lanfang Republic in 1777, which was ended by Dutch colonists more than a century later, in 1884. Today, with democratisation following the overthrow of Suharto, Singkawang has a Chinese mayor, Tjhai Chui Mie, who was recently re-elected. The mayor has grand plans for her city, most evident in the recent opening of a new airport. With a new deep-sea port nearby, economic prospects for this coastal city shine brightly. This is especially true as Indonesia's shift of its national capital to Nusantara in nearby East Kalimantan gathers momentum. At the very least, more two-way travel between Sarawak and West Kalimantan can be expected. Indonesian visitors to Kuching are a common sight, and Malaysian travel to West Kalimantan is on the rise. The most recent good news has it that the main airport in Pontianak has officially regained its international status. Flights between Kuching and Pontianak, which were cut during the Covid-19 pandemic, are expected to resume soon. Given that medical tourists have been packing the daily flight between Kuching and Jakarta, private hospitals in Kuching can expect more patients when Pontianak flights resume. The charms of West Kalimantan ought to be better promoted to Sarawakians to encourage a healthier, more balanced flow of visitors across the shared border. My recent visit to Pontianak shows that the dusty old city, like Singkawang, has been largely transformed into one with well-maintained streets, high-rise international hotels and big malls.
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
Pilgrims performing nafar awal to depart Mina for Makkah starting tomorrow morning
MINA: Around half of Malaysian pilgrims undertaking nafar awal or the early departure permitted during the haj, are set to leave Mina for Makkah on tomorrow morning in a move aimed at easing congestion. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said those departing had completed four of the six core rites of the pilgrimage and would begin leaving as early as 6.30 am. 'The first group, comprising 50 per cent of the pilgrims, will return to Makkah. This will help Tabung Haji manage logistics more effectively,' he told reporters after visiting the Malaysian pilgrims' tents here today. Mohd Na'im also reminded pilgrims to observe the designated 'lockdown' period, from 10 am to 4 pm, to avoid prolonged exposure to the extreme heat. He further advised pilgrims to adhere to all instructions and health advisories issued by the medical and religious teams for their safety and well-being. Meanwhile, the minister expressed appreciation for the high levels of cleanliness and discipline shown by Malaysian pilgrims throughout their time in Arafah, Muzdalifah and Mina. 'At both Arafah and Muzdalifah, I found our camps to be very clean. This reflects our pilgrims' strong understanding of the importance of maintaining cleanliness and upholding noble conduct as part of the haj rituals,' he said. As of yesterday (10 Zulhijjah), all Malaysian pilgrims had safely arrived in Mina, with nearly all having completed the stoning ritual at Jamrah Kubra, one of the compulsory rites of haj, followed by tahallul awal, which involves shaving or cutting at least three strands of hair.
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
Half of Malaysian haj pilgrims to leave Mina early tomorrow
MINA: Around half of Malaysian pilgrims undertaking nafar awal or the early departure permitted during the haj, are set to leave Mina for Makkah on tomorrow morning in a move aimed at easing congestion. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said those departing had completed four of the six core rites of the pilgrimage and would begin leaving as early as 6.30 am. 'The first group, comprising 50 per cent of the pilgrims, will return to Makkah. This will help Tabung Haji manage logistics more effectively,' he told reporters after visiting the Malaysian pilgrims' tents here today. Mohd Na'im also reminded pilgrims to observe the designated 'lockdown' period, from 10 am to 4 pm, to avoid prolonged exposure to the extreme heat. He further advised pilgrims to adhere to all instructions and health advisories issued by the medical and religious teams for their safety and well-being. Meanwhile, the minister expressed appreciation for the high levels of cleanliness and discipline shown by Malaysian pilgrims throughout their time in Arafah, Muzdalifah and Mina. 'At both Arafah and Muzdalifah, I found our camps to be very clean. This reflects our pilgrims' strong understanding of the importance of maintaining cleanliness and upholding noble conduct as part of the haj rituals,' he said. As of yesterday (10 Zulhijjah), all Malaysian pilgrims had safely arrived in Mina, with nearly all having completed the stoning ritual at Jamrah Kubra, one of the compulsory rites of haj, followed by tahallul awal, which involves shaving or cutting at least three strands of hair.
