NEGRI SEMBILAN recorded the lowest hotel occupancy rate in the country last year at 51.2% despite being home to some good beaches.
State Tourism, Culture, Arts, Heritage and Malay Customs committee chairman Mohammad Razi Kail said the statistics were unsettling and the figure was even lower than the national average hotel occupancy rate of 68%.
Mohammad Razi said the state government had increased efforts to promote the state as a premier tourist destination and hoped to attract more tourists this year.
"We are going all out to make the state a popular tourist destination and hope designating Port Dickson as a health and wellness zone would help us in our efforts.
"We have also lined up various sporting and cultural activities for the rest of the year to get more people to come here.
"This state is known for its cultural heritage and we want tourists to spend a few days here exploring the interesting places instead of just passing through on their journey to the north or south," he said at a briefing for hotel and tour operators recently.
Mohamad Razi also urged tourism industry players to come up with packages to entice visitors to stay in the state. Hotels, he said could always team up with foreign tour operators and provide them with cheap packages.
He said they should also take advantage of Port Dickson's proximity to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
