Datuk Wira Boo Kuang Loon, Datuk Wira Boo Kuang Loon (Photography by SooPhye/Options)
Thanks to its Unesco listing, Melaka needs no introduction to anyone looking at a local vacation spot — it is within two hours’ drive from KL while accommodation and food choices are aplenty. Outside its historic perimeter, however, Melaka is an untapped resource. Klebang, for example, boasts the Submarine Museum, the most delicious putu piring and coconut shakes, and a white sand dune beach that features often in high-fashion shoots and wedding pictures. As a state, Melaka pulls in many repeat tourists, but for a while now, there has not been anything fresh to attract new tourists or to extend the interest of existing ones.
The Melaka-born CEO of Yong Tai Bhd, Datuk Wira Boo Kuang Loon, was always aware of this — outside of eating and a bit of sightseeing, there was not a lot to do in this small southern state. “I am a proud Melakan, and my state is known as a tourism site — 16.8 million tourists came here last year, but we didn’t have anything major to offer them. Las Vegas, New York and London, for example, have great shows for people to watch. Even Bangkok and South Korea have something to offer. At night, besides hosting tourists for dinner, we actually have nothing else to offer them,” he begins.
---
For the full story, pick up a copy of The Edge Malaysia (June 25, 2018) at your nearest newsstands. Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.
