November 17, 2009 17:36 PM

Perak Reestablishes State Tourism Council

IPOH, Nov (Bernama) -- The Perak state government has reestablished the Perak Tourism Council comprising of related government agencies and the private sector in an effort to chart a common goal for the tourism industry in the state, said senior state executive councillor Datuk Hamidah Osman.

She said among agencies involved were Tourism Perak, Tourism Malaysia Perak and the Perak State Tourism Action Council while the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Perak and the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Perak are among private bodies in the council.

Hamidah, who is also the chairman of the Industry, Investment, Entrepreneur Development, ICT, Tourism and Women's Affairs state committee, said the primary role of the council was to prepare and implement the Perak Tourism Strategic Action Plan that will be the catalyst for the growth of the tourism industry in Perak.

"The Institut Darul Ridzuan (IDR), the think-tank of the Perak State Government, is overseeing the preparation of the strategic action plan. A consulting team led by Tourism Resource Consultants Ltd (TRC) of New Zealand and the Centre for Innovative Planning and Development (CIPD) of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia is assisting.

"The team is due to report a draft in early Dec while the final report is due in Feb 2010," she told reporters after chairing the kick-off meeting of the Perak Tourism Strategic Action Plan project here Tuesday.

She said the council would not be like when the tourism council was 13 years ago and that the new Perak Tourism Council would be more focused and would be a platform for all government agencies and the private sector that were related to cooperate to move in one direction of tourism to benefit together.

-- BERNAMA

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