KUALA TERENGGANU, Oct 26 — Terengganu continues to shine in the country’s tourism industry when its famous drawbridge and highly popular squid jigging or candat sotong activity received the 2019 Malaysian Tourism Council (MTC) gold awards yesterday.
During the event which was organised by the Malaysian Tourism Council and held in Selangor, Terengganu’s iconic drawbridge was named as top winner in the Best New Travel Icon category while the squid jigging received the Most Popular Tourism Activity category award.
Terengganu Tourism, Culture and Information Technology Committee chairman Ariffin Deraman said Terengganu would continue to promote the two products to attract more tourists to the state for the upcoming Visit Malaysia Year 2020.
“To further increase tourist attraction to the drawbridge, various promotional activities and programmes are also being planned by Tourism Terengganu and TI Properties in 2020, including boat race, yacht sailing and world kite competition apart from the annual Tower Run and triathlon.
“A special briefing on the drawbridge will also be given to foreign media during the Terengganu participation in the World Travel Market in London, the world’s largest tourism programme early next month,” he said in a statement today.
For the record, to date, the drawbridge has recorded a total of 27,553 paid visitors following the introduction of ticket charge for those who wish to visit the towers, from September 15.
The first drawbridge in Southeast Asia spanning 638 metres in length with two 16-storey towers and costing RM248 million to build, was officially opened to the public on August 1.
Meanwhile, Ariffin said, the squid jigging which has its own uniqueness was also included in the main activities of the Visit Malaysia Year 2020 and would be launched in the Marang district in early April next year.
“These awards are expected to inspire the tourism industry players in Terengganu to continue to provide the best service in the future,” he said. — Bernama
