800,000 Tourists Enter Kelantan From Thailand Via State Borders In First Half Of The Year
Duty-free shops at state borders are major attractions for foreign tourists.
By Celine Low — 18 Sep 2024, 12:15 PM
An estimated 1.5 million tourists have entered Kelantan from Thailand between January and June this year
Of this total, 800,000 were recorded crossing the border into the state, according to data from the Immigration Department. The data also includes Thai nationals and travellers from Europe and other regions.
The remaining 700,000 tourists were recorded entering the state via air route.
State Tourism, Culture, Arts, and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Kamaruddin Md Noor expressed confidence that Kelantan will hit its target of three million visitors by the end of the year.
"Based on this figure, the state government is confident that we can achieve our tourist arrival target in conjunction with Visit Kelantan Year 2024," he said.
Tourists are particularly attracted to the duty-free shops available at three border entry points: Rantau Panjang, Pengkalan Kubor, and Bukit Bunga
Kamaruddin said the availability of duty-free goods at the state border has contributed to the influx of international tourists.
The Kelantan state government also announced plans to relocate the Rantau Panjang duty-free zone to a more strategic location, as its current placement within a village area is seen as less ideal.
"We realise that the number of tourists who visited the Rantau Panjang duty-free zone lately was less than those who visited the Pengkalan Kubor duty-free zone," said Kamaruddin.
