LUMUT: The monsoon season is underway but the tourism sector in Pangkor is weathering the storm with visitors packing the island.

       Carparks near the Marina Islay jetty were full this weekend as folk have started holidaying again.

       Digital specialist Echo Chen Suew Foon, from Kuala Lumpur, said she did not mind the rainy weather at the island famed for its beaches and hornbills.

       “I am just here for a short getaway. I just want to relax at the hotel,” the 36-year-old said when interviewed in Pangkor yesterday.

       Chen, who drove to Lumut, said the weather was fine when she arrived here to board the ferry.

       “But hopefully the weather won’t be bad during my stay,” she said.

       A pharmacist, who wished to be known only as Nurul Huda, from Ampang, Selangor, said she brought her family, including her mother-in-law, to visit their relatives on the island.

       “The last time we met them was in December last year. We don’t mind the weather as it has been a while since we went for a trip with the entire family,” she said.

       Nurul Huda said her children were excited to go on holiday.

       “They have been staying at home for quite some time and since both my husband and I are medical frontliners, we haven’t been able to spend much time with them.

       “Even if it rains, I think it is okay. This trip is mainly a reunion among us,” she added.

       Snacks seller Zurina Ibrahim, 41, said she has been enjoying brisk business with more tourist arrivals.

       “It has been windy and raining: but tourists are still pouring in,” she said when met at the ruins of Dutch Fort, which illustrates the island’s strategic importance during colonial times.

       Part-time salesperson Ainatul Maisarah Roslee, 20, said the souvenir shop she worked in would continue operating during the monsoon season.

       “During the earlier movement control order, we were not allowed to open our business. With interstate travel now allowed, business is back to usual.

       “It rains almost every day, yet it is not stopping tourists from coming to Pangkor,” she added.

       Ainatul Maisarah said her shop attracts up to 100 customers during weekends.

       “Since we reopened several weeks ago, we were able to chalk up sales of up to RM700 daily,” she said.