Johor is getting warmed up for its big tourism push next year through its Visit Johor (VJ 2020) campaign.
The state was accorded Malaysia’s Favourite Destination by the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) at the coming MATTA Fair on Sept 5-8 at the Putra World Trade Centre. At the state pavilion at the fair, there will be 22 booths representing various sectors of the tourism industry from state and private agencies and companies.
Liow Cai Tung, Johor Executive Committee Chairman for Tourism, Women, Family and Community Development told the media at the press conference at the MATTA headquarters that the state was already well known for its numerous theme parks.
“We decided to not only promote them but also emphasise our natural attractions and also our rich heritage and culture and the charms of our cuisine. Singaporeans are quite familiar with our national parks but we want other people from across Malaysia and other international visitors to also be educated on its charm and beauty,” said Ms Liow.
To that end the state has come up with a comprehensive programme for next year and which will cover all 10 districts in the state. There will be 20 destinations highlighted in the state and many of them outside of the state capital Johor Bahru.
There will also be a total of 20 events spread across the year that will also be emphasised and some of them held specially for VJ 2020. These include the annual international kite flying festival, various food and cultural festival, a beach festival, special parades and sports events.
Datuk Tan Kok Liang, MATTA president, said that Johor was the second most visited state last year with a record of 7.8 million arrivals and the target for next year was 8.4 million. Many of the international arrivals outside from Singaporeans who drive across the causeway arrive at Senai International Airport, Johor Bahru.
Johor’s colourful nature and culture will be promoted through the Visit Johor 2020 campaign. Pictured right is the campaign’s mascot, a Malayan tiger. (Tourism Johor)
Ms Liow also unveiled the VJ 2020 logo and mascot, with the logo having a stylised gambus (a Malay traditional string instrument) and the arch of the Johor Royal Palace, the Mahkota Istana Bukit Serene. The mascot, called “Joh” is also a stylised character based on the Malayan tiger.
Both the logo and the mascot were first unveiled at a launch by Dato Dr Sahruddin Jamal, Johor Chief Minister in Johor Bahru on Aug 17, 2019.
Also present at the press conference were Zihan Ismail, Tourism Johor director and Puah Tai Neng, MATTA CEO.