IPOH: The newly-announced duty-free status for Pangkor Island effective next year will certainly be a boost to the tourism sector in the state.
State Tourism, Arts and Culture committee chairman Tan Kar Hing said the island would be a tourist attraction for visitors to stay and spend.
“We have seen how the tourism industry has changed in Tioman Island and Langkawi Island after both were accorded duty-free status.
“The state government is very grateful with this good news announced today but we need to get more thorough details from the Finance Ministry,” he said when contacted today.
Tan added that there were different views on what items would be exempted from tax because there were some parties who did not want cigarettes and liquor to be included in tax exempted products.
He also hoped that the duty-free status would enable more air traffic at the Pangkor airport .
“Foreign tourists will usually land at Sultan Azlan Shah airport in Ipoh. As such, it is wise to have a new route from Ipoh to Pangkor directly. At this moment, tourists from Ipoh need to drive about two hours to reach the island,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pangkor Island resident, Mazwin Teh Abdul Rahman, 35, said he would like to thank the government for continuing the proposal to upgrade Pangkor Island as a duty-free island which could also spur the economy.
“We are happy because it will bring life to the island. Most of us are fisherman. We also hope that the development project, as well as the improvement plans that we had before, will be realised,” he said.