Putrajaya Out to lure more tourists

THE newly established Putrajaya Tourism Action Council will focus its efforts on drawing more tourists to the garden city.

Set up recently under the Tourism Ministry, the council will seek to increase local and foreign tourist arrivals in Putrajaya through various means, especially in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2007.

A total of 1.1million tourists visited Putrajaya between 2000 and 2005. Statistics up till October last year showed that 122,472 visitors were recorded at the Putra Mosque, a popular destination for local and foreign tourists alike.

Elaborating on the means to boost tourist arrivals in Putrajaya, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique said the month-long Federal Territory Day celebrations in the federal administrative capital was an example.

All ears: Zulhasnan (second from left) listening intently as a vendor (right) explains the benefits of honey jam at the Agro Bazaar at Taman Warisan Pertanian.

He said this after visiting the four-day Agro Bazaar held in Taman Warisan Pertanian in Precinct 16 in conjunction with Federal Territory Day.

With him were Putrajaya Corporation president Tan Sri Samsudin Osman and their respective spouses Datin Nooriah Ana Razak and Datin Seri Suslita Abdul Majid.

Zulhasnan and his wife spent an hour visiting the various stalls offering flowers, plants, herbs and garden necessities and chatting with the operators. They also toured a small section of the agricultural park.

“Many attractions of the park and Putrajaya must be promoted often and one of the ways to do this is for the local authority and park operators to work with private companies,'' he said.

Meanwhile, Samsudin said the Putrajaya Tourism Action Council secretariat would be based at the Putrajaya Corporation Complex in Precinct 3.

He also said a letter was sent to the Economic Planning Unit recently asking for a review of the decision regarding the monorail project that was shelved due to lack of funds.

Samsudin said a better public transport system in Putrajaya would draw more visitors to the capital. Several park-and-ride venues are already in place.

Source : STAR
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