KUANTAN: The drop in visitors at the popular Cherating beach here over the past few years has raised some concerns among traders and holiday resort operators.
Nevertheless, in a bid to boost tourist numbers, entrepreneurs here had moved to join hands organise special programmes to promote and revive the attractions in Cherating again.
They engaged an event consultant to study and plan long-term programmes hoping to capitalise on the new attractions in Cherating, including surfing, firefly tours and the river cruise to boost visitors arrival.
Their efforts later on culminated into a programme called "My Beautiful Cherating", which aims at rejuvenating the beach status as an exciting tourist destination.
Silverminds Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Roslawati Mohd said her company had been appointed to spearhead works revive the beach.
"The programme is not a one-off event. It is a long-term plan to help Cherating, which is one of the most beautiful beaches in Peninsular Malaysia, to regain its popularity.
"There are now several new attractions in Cherating such as windsurfing, firefly watching tours and river cruise activities which can be a crowd-puller. The local entrepreneurs realise that something has to be done to bring the beach back to its glory days," she said.
Roslawati said the implementation of "My Beautiful Cherating" was divided into several phases.
Phase One involved the cleaning up of Kampung Budaya Cherating and sprucing up the area.
"A gotong-royong event was held on Dec 18 which saw the participation of representatives from Tourism Pahang, government sectors, private agencies and the residents in Cherating. Besides cleaning the beach, they trimmed the trees, planted flowers and gave the entrance to Cherating a fresh new look.
"To ensure cleanliness is maintained continuously, Koperasi Alam Hijau Perak Bhd (Kohijau-ICycle), a recycling consultant, was invited to the programmes to give the villagers an opportunity to practice recycling and participate in the campaign. Its chairman Professor Dr Richard Ng told residents the campaign is not only about keeping Cherating clean but they will earn rewards in the form of cash and vouchers, for maintaining the area cleanly," she said, adding Phase Two will be launched early next year.
She said volunteers who helped during the programme were also later involved in several traditional games like coconut-bowling, "tapak gajah" (elephant steps using coconut shells) and musical chairs which was to help foster a closer relationship.
"Villagers from various age groups participated in the programme as there were free health screening and job consultation session for those seeking employment," she said, describing the programme was the first step towards helping the beach become a crowd puller.