Melaka plans to introduce seaplanes in 2021 to boost tourism

Seaplanes will be a new icon for Melaka’s tourism sector from next year with the investment on these planes to be worth about RM500 million.

State Tourism, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman, Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis said the seaplanes which could land on or take off from water, were manufactured by a company in Penang and expected to be based at the Sungai Rambai Aerodrome in Jasin.

“There will be further discussion with the company and investors on the matter soon,” he told reporters after officiating at the Tourism Melaka Futsal Challenge 2020, held at the Batu Berendam Sports Complex, here, today.

He said many more tourism products would be introduced next year to further attract domestic and foreign tourists, hence increasing the length of stay in Melaka.

Meanwhile, he said, tourist arrivals in the state continued to rise in the last two weeks, seen from the number of vehicles entering the state.

“We have received information from the industry players, particularly hotels, on the increasing number of bookings for rooms while some hotels have been fully booked until early next year.

“I also understand that Melaka Zoo has received not less than 5,000 visitors who wanted to see the new theme park, Dinosaur Encounter, which opened two days ago and the ticket sales have reached RM800,000 this month alone.

“The number of passengers for the Melaka River Cruise has also increased, with about 3,500 recorded yesterday,” he added.

The two-day Tourism Melaka Futsal Challenge from yesterday, involved 2,500 players from 256 teams including from outside Melaka. — Bernama via Malay Mail

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