25th. August 2008
It was recently reported that a Malaysian Cruise Liner had to by-pass Melaka because Melaka had no proper disembarking and embarking facilities. The waterway into Melaka is shallow and cruise liners must anchor off-shore before passengers and crew can disembark into Melaka.
A cruise liner can bring in at least 2000 passengers or more into our shores at any one time. Should half of the passengers and crew decide to visit Melaka, more than 1,000 people of high nett worth can visit for a single day. That means we need to have shuttle boats to bring in the visitors and to bring them back to the ship. Moreover, on reaching our shores, we need to transport them to our historical sites and entertainment venues. We need at least 25 air-conditioned buses to ferry them around.
Do we have the necessary facilities and space to cater for such a crowd at any one time?
The Melaka State authorities should identify a suitable space to build a proper CIQ facilities so that our special guests can visit us without any hassle. The spin off is inmeasurable since the large entourage per visit will give direct economic benefits to locals. Local traders can sell their local souvenirs, offer our visitors our local cuisines and show them our friendly hospitality.
Imagine how many guests can visit us if we can receive at least 4 cruise ships or more per month.
Tourism Melaka would like to appeal to our Melaka State Government to undertake this infrastructure as early as possible. We should undertake this project on a fastrack basis so that Melaka can reap the rewards from our status as Melaka - World Heritage City and Everlasting Living Heritage.
