'Visit Johor' call to Singapore schools

Straits Times 4 Jan 09;

Johor, with its vast natural richness, can be used as part of the syllabus in schools and universities in Singapore, said Malaysia Tourism Minister Azalina Othman Said.

She said that through eco-tourism programmes, students could learn more by travelling to fruit farms, (rubber and oil palm) estates and forests in Malaysia.

'Why travel to faraway places when Johor is just next door?' Datuk Seri Azalina told reporters in Singapore. 'And, through a special package, they can even incorporate such trips as part of their syllabus.'

Ms Azalina was in Singapore to launch the Zoom Malaysia advertising campaign at the Malaysian High Commission.

The Malaysian tourism ministry has approved a 100 per cent increase in the budget for advertisements, amounting to RM15 million (S$6.2 million), to tap the Singapore market this year, reported New Straits Times.

In Singapore, she also paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and discussed ways to boost the travel industry in the two countries. She had suggested Malaysia as a destination for Singapore students for eco-tourism, homestay programmes and visits to fruit orchards, as these exposed young Singaporeans to nature, according to NST.

She said PM Lee was receptive to the idea and suggested that it be expanded to other Asean countries, adding that a package for Asean students would be discussed at the Asean Tourism Ministers meeting in Hanoi between Thursday and Saturday.

She added that her ministry was banking on domestic tourism to cushion the impact of the economic slowdown and had classified Singapore as a domestic market due to the repeat visitors. 'We will focus more on Singapore as its people have been the most frequent visitors to Malaysia. They make up about 50 per cent of tourist arrivals,' Ms Azalina was quoted by NST as saying.

The Star/Asia News Network