Malaysia’s State of Johor Bahru, just across Singapore, is gaining increasingly recognition as an important tourism destination thanks to the opening of theme parks such as Legoland. But the State wants also to be better known as a centre of arts and heritage.
BANGKOK- With 3.79 million of tourists in hotel accommodation in 2011 (including 1.78 million of foreign visitors), the State of Johor Bahru is not Malaysia’s new kid on the block when talking about tourism. However, with a wave of new attractions opened last year in the Nusajaya area such as the iconic Legoland but also Hello Kitty Theme Park. “There is a growing interest for Johor Bahru across Southeast Asia, especially due to the opening of all those new family-oriented attractions”, comments Iskandar Mirza Mohd Yusof, Director of Tourism Malaysia in Bangkok during the recently hosted Thailand Travel Fair TITF.
Johor Bahru wants however to be more than just lego bricks or a stunned cat face…The State government is now pushing to turn the city of half a million people into a centre of arts and culture in a move to promote local talents and enlivening the local arts scene. Visual arts will particularly be promoted with the hosting of exhibitions but also the opening of art galleries and new museums. The state works on promoting arts through the Johor Heritage Foundation (JHF), which provides to local artists venues and channels to expose themselves to a larger public. Currently, the new Muzium Tokoh Johor in the city of Kota Tinggi is hosting an International Arts Exhibition titled “Link”, presenting works of internationally-acclaimed artists Associate Prof Yusof Ghani from Malaysia, Masaaki Shibata from Japan, Gerard Van Den Oetelaar (Netherlands) and Widodo Soerono (Indonesia).
At a recent press conference, Johor Heritage Foundation director Muhamad Fuad Radzuan highlighted the efforts set by the State government to list heritage buildings and areas in Johor State. “Information on the state’s heritage building and historical sites are stored in the Geographic Information System (GIS), which was introduced in June last year. To date, 208 heritage building and sites have been identified. A committee will be formed to evaluate and verify the collected data before they are stored in the GIS,” he said.
Of the 208 locations, 57 historical sites have been identified in Johor Baru, Batu Pahat (41), Muar (33), Kota Tinggi (32), Segamat (15), Mersing (11), Kluang (10), and Pontian (9).
Two new museums are on the verge of being completed this year in Kota Tinggi while the Johor Art Gallery in the city centre of Johor Baru is also being upgraded.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
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