ON Nov 13, a report with the heading “Kelantan sedia perkenal pelancongan musim tengkujuh” (Kelantan is ready to introduce monsoon tourism) was published based on the remarks made by State Tourism, Culture, Arts and Heritage committee chairman Datuk Kamarudin Md Noor.
After the presentation ceremony of the second series of subsistence donations to 17 trishaw riders at the tourism information centre in Kota Bharu, he said not many tourism-related activities are held in Kelantan due to the risks of floods during the monsoon season.
Kamarudin disclosed several programmes that are suitable in the monsoon season will be held such as surfing, and promoting local cuisines like river fish, various types of yams, and putu halba, a steamed cloth-wrapped snack made from grated tapioca, halba seeds, and gula Melaka.
He said surfing activities are very suitable during the monsoon season as the waves are so big and added that there are two suitable places for surfing activities, namely Melawi Beach and Kemasin Beach in Bachok.
If his outside-the-box thinking and against-the-grain efforts are translated into results, then Kelantan would be swarming with visitors. Instead, Kelantan is probably the least popular state in the whole country for both domestic and foreign tourists throughout the year.
Lest we forget, it would be easy for any organisation to splurge on advertising but extremely difficult to get the desired results even if the products are good or great value for money. To begin with, most advertisements are lost in cyberspace and do not reach targeted audiences.
As for monsoon tourism, there is an additional three-prong challenge, and they are travelling to Kelantan, moving about in the state, and then getting out. If all these pose no problem, would many people relish dark tourism, which is visiting areas affected by natural disasters?
As of Sunday (Dec 1) morning, 152,000 people affected by the floods have been evacuated to relief centres in nine states viz. Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor, with a massive 96,929 in Kelantan.
That includes all the states in peninsular Malaysia except Penang and Pahang, plus the two federal territories. But later in the day, Pahang was also affected with Raub recording the highest number of victims followed by Jerantut and Lipis.
Several main roads have also been closed including the Kuala Lipis-Kota Bharu as KM344-KM342 was flooded. It would be foolish for residents from unaffected areas to drive to Kelantan for monsoon tourism as they would not be able to pass flooded roads along the way.
Flying to Kota Bharu is also not a good idea as four flights could not take off from Sultan Abdul Halim Airport at Alor Star as the runway was flooded on Friday night, and a similar situation could occur at Kota Bharu airport after unprecedented heavy rains or severe bad weather.
By Saturday, downtown Kota Bharu was submerged in approximately two metres of water after Sungai Kelantan overflowed at Tambatan Diraja.
If tourists marooned in their hotels had enjoyed the spectacle of rushing floodwaters, they would run out of food and drinks sooner or later.
Huge areas covered by floodwaters may look like a huge lake and serene from high above but travelling on a boat may not be a cruise as currents at some places can be very strong and those falling into the water will disappear if sucked away by undercurrents beneath.
It is no fun watching flood waters reaching or covering buildings and houses, and animals perched precariously on whatever they can find, or their carcasses floating on the muddy water. It is heartbreaking to see residents sitting exposed on the roof of their houses.
Sadly, two elderly men tending to their livestock were found drowned in Machang, one in Kampung Kuala Sat and the other in Kampung Gelung Gajah. Earlier, a one-year-old boy drowned on the flooded ground floor inside his own home at Kampung Cherang Melintang.
If Kelantan were to succeed in monsoon tourism, it must have contingency plans to rescue marooned tourists from wherever they may be, which could be a city hotel, beach resort, or island chalet. Or these gullible tourists would just have to fend for themselves? – Dec 2, 2024
YS Chan is master trainer for Mesra Malaysia and Travel and Tours Enhancement Course and an Asean Tourism Master Trainer. He is also a tourism and transport business consultant.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image: Bernama
