Johor is attracting heightened tourism curiosity for the reason that crowning of its sultan as Malaysia’s new king, and being named the host metropolis for the ASEAN Tourism Discussion board (ATF) in 2025.
Johor’s sultan Ibrahim Iskandar was sworn in as the brand new Malaysian king on January 31 and now holds the title of Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The sultan, of British-Malay descent, will reign for the following 5 years, and plenty of within the tourism trade predict renewed curiosity in Malaysia and Johor together with his appointment.
The king has in depth enterprise pursuits and, little question, goals to see them prosper. He actively supported the current institution of the Johor-Singapore Particular Financial Zone and is on document to rekindle curiosity within the stalled high-speed railway (HSR) between the 2 nations.
The Johor Bahru-Singapore Speedy Transit System Hyperlink (RTS Hyperlink) is at the moment underneath development with a completion date of late 2026. In the meantime, the luxurious Jap & Oriental Specific has recommenced companies that may introduce Johor to high-end travellers, a few of whom may additionally select to vacation in Johor’s high-end resorts, comparable to these on the built-in tourism growth at Desaru Coast.
For ATF 2025, Johor will likely be internet hosting the occasion subsequent 12 months. Whereas the venues for the conferences and the journey trade have but to be finalised, common supervisor of Doubletree by Hilton Johor Bahru, Andreas Justkowiak, mentioned: “We’re excited with the outlook for tourism in Malaysia, particularly with internet hosting ATF 2025 and Go to Malaysia Yr 2026. In Johor, we’re excited in regards to the launch of the extremely anticipated RTS Hyperlink, serving 10,000 passengers per hour every manner.”
Chris Bathroom, managing director of Get pleasure from Vacation Tour, mentioned: “The royal presence ought to result in a surge in guests desirous to discover Johor’s cultural heritage and partake in associated occasions related to the brand new monarch, thereby positively impacting the state’s tourism trade.”
Arokia Das Anthony, government director, The Essence of Asia Excursions & Journey, shared that his firm is arising with new itineraries to incorporate a photograph cease of the royal palace in Johor as there’s curiosity from the Indian market.
Christian Gerart, common supervisor of Anantara Desaru Coast, identified that the king could be very progressive and cares deeply about growth, and he’s optimistic that investments will circulate into Johor.
He mentioned: “In anticipation of sturdy progress in Johor, we’ve simply launched our three-bedroom residence after the success of our seashore residence, and this newest bundle contains breakfast, spa, minibar and airport transfers. Being part of the Anantara branding, sustainability is essential, and we help Rewild Desaru, a fund for establishing inexperienced corridors to make sure protected migration of animals inside Desaru, and have developed guest-participation programmes.”
Many anticipate the brand new king to take an lively, hands-on position within the nation’s governance. He has been quoted as saying that the economic system should recuperate and Malaysia’s prosperity have to be prioritised.
