PUTRAJAYA, Oct 30 – The Tourism Ministry plans to promote Malaysia’s gardens as the country’s latest tourist attraction and tourism product globally beginning next year.
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen told a press conference here today that she plans to promote Malaysia’s gardens, flora and fauna and was recruiting garden designers and garden tourist guides as well as coming up with garden tour packages overseas.
“We have identified Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens, Putrajaya, Titiwangsa Lake Gardens, Fraser’s Hill, Shah Alam, Taiping Lake Gardens, the Penang Botanical and Spice Gardens, the Botanical Garden and 1,000 Flower Park in Perlis as our first garden tourism destinations.
“Our gardens have never been structured as a tourism product and yet overseas, there are garden tourism packages. This is our first phase and we will continue our development,” said Ng. “I have instructed our tourism directors worldwide to identify tour operators dealing with garden and park tourism.”
To ensure feasibility of the project, Ng brought in three world-renowned garden designers, Jane Huntley and Gilbert Vahe from the stunning Monet Garden in Paris and Jekka McVicar, one of the world’s foremost authorities on garden designs.
“I have just been stunned by the plants I’ve seen, they’re absolutely fantastic. I have had many magical moments here especially when the Minister told us to listen to the natural chorus of the jungle of the forest in Fraser’s Hill.
“What you’ve got here in Fraser’s Hill, Penang Hill, and Malacca, where you can walk in a forest, where you have nature on your doorstep. They (tourists) will just be so absolutely, gobsmacked from the sheer impact of the plants,” McVicar said.
As part of the promotion programme, Tourism Malaysia will take part in the 2010 Chelsea Flower Show in the United Kingdom, a prestigious and important competition and event in the world of gardens and gardening.
Ng said the ministry was looking for a Malaysian garden designer who had won international competitions to help the government design a garden at the show.
“We call on Malaysians with a passion for gardening to help us become garden tourist guides and someone who has won an international gardening competition to help us in designing our garden for the Chelsea Flower Show,” Ng said. – Bernama
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