State govt must look into transportation issues for locals and tourists, urged vendors in Melaka

MELAKA - The incumbent Barisan Nasional (BN)-led state government is urged to look into matters concerning public transportation, for both locals and tourists in Melaka.

Souvenier shop owner at Stadthuys Melaka, Khairul Ariffin, 26, asked the government under the PH-BN coalition, to station more public vehicles such as busses for the people espeacially tourists visiting Melaka.

"The government should consider adding more busses to make it easier and hassle-free for tourists to move around the city.

"There are public transport like Panaroma bus but it is not frequent. This results in tourists spending hours waiting for the bus and moving from one place to another,"he told Sinar Harian recently.

Asked on business growth in Melaka, Khairul said vendors including him, have been receiving tremendous support from tourists and locals alike.

"Business has been really good. For now, we are getting huge number of visitors during the weekend which is from Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

"We have tourists visiting from Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam on weekdays which helps to sustain day-to-day operations, apart from weekends," he said while serving customers.

Another vendor in his fifties who only wants to be known as Ismail said the trishaw (beca) riders's business are overwhelming during school holidays and long breaks in Melaka.

"Business is good during the weekend but its slightly slow during weekdays.

"However during school holiday and long breaks, we receive huge demand for 'beca' rides. We also hope that the state government will further boost the tourism sector to encourage more visitors to come to Melaka," he said.

Melaka's tourism sector has booomed in the past fews years with more homestays, cafes, restaurants and hotels established despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tourism industry in the state is also showing positive development by attracting tourists from all over the world, which makes the heritage city as 'a must visit place' in Malaysia.