MARANG, September 28 — As part of the preparations for the October–March northeastern monsoon season, which brings heavy rains and frequently floods to the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Terengganu’s renowned resorts on its South China Sea islands will be temporarily shuttered.
Ahmad Ridzwan Abd Rahman, the tourism director for Terengganu state, made it clear that the state government has never forbidden or given instructions to close island resorts during the monsoon season.
To prepare for the monsoon season, hotels, resorts, and guesthouses on Terengganu’s recreational islands usually halt operations and package sales from October to February.
According to Utusan Malaysia, he told reporters yesterday, “The closure is made for the safety of tourists, especially due to the uncertainty of weather conditions and turbulent seas.”
He made it clear that industry participants alone decide whether to keep running their businesses or not, noting that typically, operators use the downtime to fix or maintain their properties.
The publication estimates that Terengganu’s islands are home to 88 hotels, resorts, and guesthouses.
Ahmad Ridzwan advised that the concerned operators will be fixing their facilities now.
According to him, as of August, 329,112 tourists have visited Terengganu’s islands; these included 141,621 visitors to Pulau Redang, 110,258 visitors to Pulau Perhentian, 55,441 visitors to Pulau Kapas and Pulau Gemia, 2,672 visitors to Pulau Bidong, 3,462 visitors to Pulau Tenggol, and 15,658 visitors to Pulau Lang Tengah.
“A total of 330,528 tourists visited these islands in 2023,” he was cited as stating – Malay mail
