Date: 4 December 2012
UPM could be country's major tourism destination: Yen Yen.
SERDANG: Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is
set to become a major tourist destination with the introduction of agro and
eco-tourism products readily available at the university. Tourism Minister
Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said a special committee would be set up to develop
the plan, direction and strategy towards realising the mission.
"This is not a fairs-like programme but we want
tourists to come here (UPM) daily, throughout the year, to see and learn about
the variety of plants, trees, fruits and many other unique and interesting
attractions, including the art and culture programmes offered in this
university.
"We were informed there are 140 clones of durian in
this university. This could also be one of the attraction for both local and
international tourists. So, the ministry
will have a pilot project with UPM to get their views and to learn of the location
and attractive tourism products," she added. She said, in ensuring the
success of the mission, UPM needed to produce tourist guides of calibre among
its students to contribute to their income and career.
Dr Ng said this at a media conference after the launch of
the Electricity Saving Awareness campaign and the handing out of 1Malaysia
student discount cards here today.
Statistics have shown that UPM has more than 1,200 hectares
of land and more than 100,000 collections of reserved tropical natural
materials, including herbarium substances, zilarium, zoology, arthropod,
seedlings and agricultural artifacts, as well as living collections, including
valuable plants, microbes, livestock animals and freshwater fish.
Dr Ng said, besides offering consultation and training to
enable UPM to be listed in the Malaysian tourist map, the ministry was also
willing to execute promotions to introduce the university's tourism products
locally and abroad.
On another note, she said, Malaysia would continue to be a
premier tourist destination in the region with the recognition of Global Peace
Index (GPI) 2011, as the most peaceful country in Southeast Asia, and fourth in
the Asia-Pacific after New Zealand, South Korea and Japan.
"CNN has listed Kuala Lumpur as the fourth best
shopping destination in the world after New York, London and Tokyo, and the
United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has ranked Malaysia the ninth
most travelled tourist destination in the world for three consecutive years,
since 2009."
However, Dr Ng said there were shortcomings which must be
overcome, such as toilet and restaurant cleanliness and public taxi services,
which were often raised by tourists. – Bernama
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