News Straits Times : Three mega tourism events to draw 30,000 tourists to Kuala Terengganu
- Adrian David
- Aug 23, 2017
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 1, 2025
KUALA TERENGGANU: About 30,000 visitors are expected to throng the east coast peninsula city from tomorrow (Thursday) for a week with three mega tourism events taking place.
Kicking off the calendar is the Terengganu F3000 Powerboat International Championship 2017 at Pulau Warisan from tomorrow till Saturday.
On Friday, the 5th World Gamelan Festival 2017 will he held at Dataran Shahbandar until Sunday.
This is followed by the week-long Terengganu Peranakan Festival that will run through Chinatown in Jalan Bandar from Friday to National Day eve on Aug 30.
Terengganu Tourism Department director Tun Ahmad Faisal Tun Abdul Razak said the events were part of the Visit Beautiful Terengganu 2017 calendar of events to generate revenue and boost tourism in the state.
“These are all part of the 50 attractions the state has to offer in its bid to woo five million tourists this year. They are in addition to the regular arrivals of tourists from the world over to visit our idyllic islands of Pulau Redang, Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Lang Tengah and Pulau Bidong that are a paradise for divers, snorklers and fun lovers,” he said.
The powerboat championship offers RM20,000, RM15,000 and RM11,000 for the first three winners, respectively.
“It includes a 400m sprint and a 1.5km, 20-lap race at the Sungai Terengganu estuary.
“Fourteen team will compete for honours with the attendance of world fifth-ranked Lebos Chaguri from Brazil and accomplished racer Scott McCook of Papua New Guinea,” said Faisal.
The locals will comprise three racers from Johor, one from Selangor, one from Negri Sembilan and two from Terengganu, while the other teams are from New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei.
They include three-time Malaysian F3000 Powerboat champion Warren Fernandez and Kane Fernandez from Selangor’s Team Fernandez, while Terengganu will parade Yusof Bakar from D’Dalima Racing and Osman Mohammad from Kandis Racing.
Faisal said the annual Peranakan Festival would see a hive of cultural, traditional and modern activites in Chinatown, with food and beverage stalls, shows and exhibitions.
As for the gamelan festival, he said it would have 300 participants from Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia who would provide 'edutainment' on the variety of traditional and contemporary instruments available.
Observers and gamelan lovers from other parts of Asia, Europe and the Americas are also expected to attend.
Of particular interest is the Malay form of gamelan, made famous by Indonesia, now gaining popularity thanks to the efforts of Terengganu.
“For centuries, the traditional instrument of gamelan had intrigued the world with its varying sounds in the Malay archipelago, since it was first formed in Bali and Java in Indonesia.
“Now, Terengganu is taking the lead to boost the Malay form, known as slendro pentatonic, which has five rhythms, compared with Indonesia’s seven rhythms,” said Faisal.
The Indonesian teams include Gastarana Bukit Tinggi Sumatera, Gondrong Gunarto and Friends, and Sanggar Singamurti-Gianyar Bali. Japan will be represented by Lambang Sari Wasabi.
The local teams are Sahabat Gamelan Terengganu (SaGa Warisan), Alkis Gemawan, Orkestra Tradisional Malaysia Istana Budaya, Bayu Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas); Gamelan Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI); Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT); Suktra Terengganu, Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Lenggong and Gamelan Akademi Seni Warisan (Aswara).
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