Elephant 'village' introduces cheaper tickets from tomorrow

HULU TERENGGANU, June 30 -- Starting tomorrow, visitors to the Kenyir Elephant Conservation Village (KECV) near Tasik Kenyir here will enjoy new ticket rates which are much cheaper compared to previously.

State Tourism, Culture and Information Technology Committee chairman Ariffin Deraman said the cheaper ticket rates introduced by the KECV management were aimed at attracting more visitors who would like to enjoy an experience with elephants in their natural habitat.

"After more than three months of closure following the Movement Control Order (MCO) on March 18, the KECV will resume operations tomorrow in compliance with the government's standard operating procedure (SOP) for the safety of visitors.

"However, two activities have to be temporarily cancelled, namely, the demonstration of elephant education and the elephant ride but visitors will have the opportunity to experience feeding baby elephants with bottles and a small fee will be charged for this fun activity," he said.

He was speaking to reporters in conjunction with the announcement of KECV’s re-opening dates and new ticket rates here today.

Among others, with the new rates, visitors aged 13 years and above would be charged RM25 compared to RM40 previously while visitors aged 13 and above (non-citizens) would be charged RM50 compared to RM100 previously.

The KECV, which has been operating since 2012 with an area of 256 hectares, now has 18 elephants ranging in age from one to 46 years old.

Visitors can see the elephants up close and interact with them as they are very tame after being trained by experienced mahouts.

"With an environment rich in flora and fauna, KECV is a must-visit destination in Terengganu," he said.

-- BERNAMA