Kelantan is aiming for 5.5 million tourists to visit the state in conjunction with the Visit Kelantan Year 2020 themed Family, Food and Festival.

Chairman of the State Unity, Culture, Heritage and Tourism Committee, Mayor Datuk Md Anizam Abdul Rahman said the number was achievable given the many attractions in the state to attract tourists from inside and outside to visit Kelantan.

"According to statistics also up to October, 3.45 million people visited Kelantan, of which 3,139,342 were local tourists while 305,048 were international.

"Looking at the statistics, we are confident that we can boost that number by taking various steps and initiatives towards attracting tourists to the state," he said today.

Earlier, he officiated the Pre-Launch Visit Kelantan 2020 which was held at the Rehal Square here.

Also, Md Anizam said everyone should take the opportunity to attract as many foreign tourists as possible to Malaysia to visit Kelantan.

He said with the uniqueness and privilege of the state upholding the Islamic Development Together policy, it was not an impossible mission for Kelantan to become a major player in the field of Islamic tourism.

"The variety of heritage, historical sites, resorts as well as the variety of food available attract tourists from within the country and abroad.

He said many interesting places to shop such as Siti Khadijah Market, Siti Aisyah Bazaar, Tok Guru Bazaar, two floating markets, namely Kampung Suri, Tumpat and Pengkalan Datu, Kota Bharu are all within easy reach.

"Kelantan also has various interesting mosques such as the State Mosque which is Muhammadi Mosque, Ar-Rahman Mosque of Elephant Island, Village Village Mosque, Cottage Studies Institution, and others to visit.

"We are also rich in ecotourism locations such as beaches, mountains, rapids, waterfalls, lakes and so on. All of these, when used optimally, can be one of the top 10 most attractive Islamic tourist destinations in Malaysia and even in the world," he said.

Meanwhile, Md Anizam said, in preparation for ensuring that the tourist enjoyment in the state was not stagnated, he had made various improvements to the facilities including the hygiene aspect