REDANG: Tourist
arrivals by air to the island is expected
to double to 25,000 a year following the launch
of another daily flight-this time from Singapore.
State Industrial Development and Tourism Committee
chairman Datuk Mohamed Awang Tera is confident
that the island's eco-system would be able
to cope with the increase in visitors.
"We don't think it will be a problem
as we are not going to allow new resorts on
the island for now," he said, adding
that the capacity to accommodate the tourist
numbers was based on the 1,027 rooms available
in the existing 17 resorts.
The State Executive Councillor had earlier
welcomed 33 passengers - including 12 travel
agents and three newsmen - who flew in on
Berjaya Air's inaugural flight from Singapore
yesterday.
Since last May, Berjaya Air's daily flights
from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in
Selangor had brought 12,500 tourists to the
island.
Mohamed said the state government would soon
conduct Environmental Impact Assessments on
the carrying capacity of all islands in Terengganu.
Malaysian Nature Society head of parks and
special projects Andrew Sebastian commented
that the influx of tourists, if not properly
handled, could jeopardize Redang's environment.
Redang, which won the Best Natural Tourist
Attraction award from Tourism Malaysia in
2003, should be promoted as a quality eco-tourism
product, he said.
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| TOUCHDOWN:
Mohamed Awang (second from right) and
Berjaya Group Bhd executive chairman
Azlan Meah Ahmad Meah welcoming the
travel agents on board the inaugural
Singapore-Redang flight yesterday. |
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