Landslides, flooding can dampen tourist arrivals - Tiong

KUALA LUMPUR: The current wave of floods and the landslide incident in the country has the potential to dampen tourism numbers, said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

Although the incidents were an unforeseen matter, he said his ministry needed to find a long-term solution to protect players in the tourism industry going forward.

"The seriousness of these incidents will be discussed in the Cabinet meeting tomorrow," said Tiong after launching the 'Ini Batik Malaysia' campaign at the Parliament building here today.

The Batang Kali landslide at the Father's Organic Farm campsite in Selangor last Friday has so far claimed 24 lives with nine more victims still missing.

Several states currently hit by flooding include Terengganu, Kelantan, Pahang, Johor and Perak in the wake of the North East Monsoon (MTL) which also affects tourism sites.

Regarding the Malaysian batik industry, Tiong said his ministry is planning to import high-quality raw materials used in batik production, as a temporary measure before the raw components can be widely produced locally.

"Malaysia is poised with the opportunity and potential to become the world's largest batik producer in the near future," he said.

-- BERNAMA