IPOH, Feb 22 ― In a bid to get return visitors to the state, the Perak government will launch the 101 Experiences in Perak campaign.

State Tourism and Culture exco Tan Kar Hing said Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu will launch the campaign during ITB Berlin next month. (ITB is Internationale Tourismus-Börse or International Tourism Market in German)

Elaborating further about the campaign, Tan said instead of promoting a cup of white coffee that is sold at RM2 each cup, it would now cover the entire process by allowing tourists to experience roasting the coffee beans to brewing the coffee.

"We are adding value to a visit,” he said.

Tan was speaking to reporters after launching the three-day Malaysia International Travel Mart at Ipoh Parade here today.

Asked if the campaign was to offset the drop in tourist arrivals to the state due to lack of new tourism products, Tan said efforts are underway to upgrade several attractions in the state.

"The Tourism Ministry has given an allocation to upgrade the Lata Tebing Tinggi in Selama, Rumah Datuk Lat in Batu Gajah and also the Pusat Eko Pelajaran Hutan Paya Laut Matang in Kuala Sepetang,” he added.

Earlier, Tan said Perak recorded 267,245 tourist arrivals in 2017.

"For 2018 until June, we reported 151,471 arrivals. There are still a lot of rooms for improvement,” he said.

He said service sector remained the highest income earner for the state.

"According to the Department of Statistics, Perak recorded RM63.8 billion GDP in 2017 of which the service industry contributed 60.9 per cent, highest among the other industries,” he said.

He added under Budget 2019, Tourism Perak had been allocated RM8 million to promote the state.

"Up to 75 per cent of the allocation would be used for programmes, promotion and events,” he added.