KUANTAN: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob visited the Kuantan 188 Tower, which is one of the latest and iconic tourism products developed by the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) on the banks of the Kuantan river here.

       He took a buggy car ride from the Kuantan City Complex where he chaired an ECERDC meeting earlier on Friday and arrived at the tower at 12.10pm.

       Present were the mentri besar from the three east coast states, namely Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail (Pahang), Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar (Terengganu) and Datuk Ahmad Yakob (Kelantan).

       Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali were also in attendance.

       At the compound of the tower, the Prime Minister also inspected and was briefed on the recreational vehicle (RV) or caravan, which is also one of the latest tourism projects proposed by ECERDC for development in a district in Pahang.

       Ismail Sabri then proceeded to the Kuantan 188 Tower skydeck which offers an unobstructed 360-degree view of the city. The Kuantan 188 Tower is the second-tallest tower in Malaysia, after KL Tower.

       Meanwhile, ECERDC chief executive officer Datuk Baidzawi Che Mat in a statement said RV tourism was fast becoming a popular trend as it provides a more open tourism concept for various outdoor and personal activities.

       "The RV tourism industry is growing rapidly in countries such as Australia, China, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand, and has been an important component of the economy in those countries.

       "This opens up opportunities for Malaysia in general, and ECER, in particular, to capitalise on this trend to create a new tourism growth opportunity in ECER and explore the potential of developing the RV industry in this region,” he said.

       On the Kuantan 188 Tower, Baidzawi said since it was opened on Dec 15, more than 23,000 people had visited the tower’s skydeck, which was inspired by the flowers and leaves of the white Terumtum plant that was said to have been abundant in the past on the banks of the Kuantan River.-Bernama