Putrajaya doing its part to attract local tourist

By TIN Media | International Published 3 years ago on 29 July 2020
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PUTRAJAYA:

Visitors can look forward to interesting packages when planning their trip to Putrajaya as tourism players are wooing more domestic travellers to the city.

For locals, the country’s administrative capital is a good place for recreational and sporting activities.

As a tourist destination, Putrajaya appeals more to international travellers, given its unique well-planned landscape, with state-of-the-art architecture and abundant natural surroundings.

The city sees an average of 70,000 visitors on a weekday and 100,000 on the weekends on average.

Tour buses often drop off their passengers to visit places like the Putra Mosque, Perdana Putra, and Putrajaya Lake Cruise to spend time and take photographs.

Putrajaya Corporation (PjC) president Datuk Dr Aminuddin Hassim said with the country’s borders still closed, the challenge now was to attract domestic travellers.

“For starters, hoteliers are giving discounts on room rates.

“There is very little demand for accommodation as people are staying in their own homes.

He said people were concerned and unsure about their safety, health, and standard operating procedure at hotels.

“Meetings are mostly being conducted via video conferencing, so there is less demand for conference rooms too.

“Domestic travellers are also not in favor of staycations and food is served in set meals instead of buffets which are much favoured,” he said.

Aminuddin added that hoteliers were formulating attractive packages to stay relevant with the current times and to appeal to the local crowd.

In line with its effort to pull domestic travellers, PjC is offering free tourist guide services for small groups and independent travellers daily at Dataran Putra from 9am to 10am.

Visitors who come to the parks in Putrajaya can enjoy its greenery. With 13 parks to choose from, travellers are spoilt for choice.

The more popular ones are Taman Botani, Taman Rimba Alam, Taman Saujana Hijau, Taman Wetland, Taman Putra Perdana and Taman Wawasan.

Aminuddin said the corporation should capitalise on the parks’ natural beauty. He said the management of the parks had complained that despite the increased number of visitors since June 10, very few engaged in activities that involved a fee.

“The number of visitors enjoying sports and recreational activities such as jogging, cycling and bird watching in our parks is increasing.

“However, activities such as kayaking and canoeing are not in demand. Most people only take a walk in the park or have a picnic,” he said.

He added that the management also complained of increased operating costs due to regular sanitisation of areas frequented by visitors and the need for more staff to monitor social distancing. These measures are most important to ensure the public’s safety and health.

“The capacities of buggies have also been reduced to adhere to social distancing guidelines, thus increasing the need for more of its usage.

“PjC is actively promoting the parks and their recreational activities on social media. We are also thinking of new activities to attract people to the park,” he said.

Aminuddin added that businesses were also trying to diversify and seek other profit-making opportunities while waiting for the situation to return to normal.

He gave the example of an event venue, the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC), which would focus on expanding its food business on the premises called Restoran Pots and Pan.

“Besides offering attractive space rental rates, meal packages are being sold to tour agents to encourage visitors to PICC. The management is also looking into food delivery and enhancing its marketing on digital platforms.

“Putrajaya Lake Cruise operators are also pushing tour agents to purchase tickets in bulk while coming up with special packages with attractive pricing.

“Popular water sports venues like Marina Putrajaya and Kompleks Sukan Air Putrajaya are being promoted for team-building activities that adhere to Covid-19 standard operating procedures.

“The management is also looking into having tour packages that include sporting activities in Putrajaya,” he said.

 


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