UPM could be country's major tourism destination: Yen Yen.

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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