Spruce-up for tourism spots across Johor
Johor government has carried out 33 infrastructure projects since last year to improve local tourism spots.
Construction as well as upgrading works have been implemented in Gunung Ledang National Park in Tangkak and Tanjung Piai National Park in Pontian.
Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said all the projects were part of efforts to ensure the success of Visit Johor 2026 (VJ2026) which aims to attract 12 million domestic and international tourists.
'More than RM6mil has been allocated to upgrade public infrastructure at Gunung Ledang National Park where works began last August and will be completed this September.
'On a good weekend, the park is able to attract 15,000 visitors.
'We expect that once the upgrade is completed, the park will record an even higher number of visitors,' he said.
Johor Zoo will soon be open at night.
Onn Hafiz shared this with local tourism players during the VJ2026 townhall programme at a hotel in Johor Baru.
He added that the state government had also allocated RM3.2mil to upgrade facilities at Tanjung Piai National Park where works began last August and are due to be completed this October.
Nature lovers can also look forward to the official opening of Taman Botani Iskandar in Iskandar Puteri.
For history buffs, there will be the opening of Royal Abu Bakar Museum at Istana Besar, Johor Baru.
Another attraction to look forward to is the redevelopment of the century-old Kampung Sungai Melayu fishing village in Iskandar Puteri.
Other improvements include the second phase of Johor Zoo's upgrading which will enable the attraction to extend its opening hours into the night.
Onn Hafiz noted that many people had joked, especially on social media, of having nothing else to do in the state except eat.
'That perception needs to change and the government is taking measures to ensure this happens.
While upgrades to Gunung Ledang National Park will be completed by September.
'It is time we elevate the state's tourism sector to the highest level because Johor has many attractive destinations that were previously under-promoted.'
Onn Hafiz also expressed hope that players in the state's tourism industry would enhance hospitality standards when welcoming foreign visitors.
'In any business, it's all about service. We must ensure top-notch service so that tourists are encouraged to return to Johor.
'The ability to speak proper English is also a basic skill that we must improve on to attract more international tourists to Johor,' he said.
The official launch of VJ2026 is set to take place this August, supported by a large-scale advertising campaign across the state.
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The Star
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However, the Italian Football Association remains confident it can meet the deadline, with work underway in Bologna and Florence and scope to bring Rome's Olympic Stadium and the current San Siro venue in line with specifications. FATE OF SAN SIRO The San Siro, with its striking spiral staircases wrapped around the outside of the stadium, was one of the symbols of Serie A's golden age in the 1990s, but much like Italian soccer in general, it has seen better days. AC Milan and Inter - owned by U.S. investment firms RedBird and Oaktree respectively - have billed as unfeasible a full revamp of the arena, officially known as the Giuseppe Meazza after a forward who played for both clubs in the 1920s-1940s. AC Milan and Inter are in talks to jointly buy the stadium, built in 1926, and the surrounding area from the Milan municipality as part of a 1.2 billion euro redevelopment including a real estate project. The plan, first presented in 2019, envisages the clubs continuing to use the 76,000-seater stadium until a new one is built nearby. Once that is ready, the old ground would be demolished except for a heritage section comprising part of its second tier. The clubs, however, face opposition from those who would like to preserve one of the temples of Italian soccer. "It is still a functional stadium. It can be modernised, and we have fought for that, but the problem is that no one is listening to our calls," said Luigi Corbani, president of a citizens' committee opposing clubs' demolition plans. Even rock stars who love playing concerts in the huge San Siro have chimed in. "It is the greatest stadium in the world, it has personality, heart and soul," Bruce Springsteen's guitarist Steven Van Zandt, aka Little Steven, told Italy's Corriere della Sera daily, calling plans to knock it down "criminal". ($1 = 0.7378 pounds) ($1 = 0.8652 euros) (Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Alvise ArmelliniEditing by Keith Weir, Alexandra Hudson)
