Some 10,000 visitors went on the Melaka River Cruise (MRC) within 14 days after the state opened its tourism sector following its transition to Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan (PPN) on Oct 1.

Perbadanan Pembangunan Sungai dan Pantai Melaka (PPSPM) chief executive officer Murad Husin said this was a positive sign towards achieving its target of getting 200,000 visitors for this year.

“On Thursday (Oct 14) alone, we had 1,400 visitors and the number is expected to increase over the weekends, especially with interstate travel now allowed,” he told Bernama last night.

Murad said various plans would be implemented in stages to attract more tourists to MRC, including the offer of a package to make pit stops at 14 jetties under Phase One of Sungai Melaka project.

This involves the route from Muara Sungai Melaka to Taman Rempah here which is expected to be launched on Oct 23.

“Through this package, visitors can take the MRC to their respective destinations at the 14 stations, like Kampung Morten, The Shore, Kampung Hulu and Kampung Jawa using a ‘one-day access ticket’,” he said, adding that a total of 28 pit stops would be built along the Melaka River for the cruise.

He said tickets are priced at RM25 for children, adults (RM40), senior citizens and students (RM30) while it is RM50 and RM40 for foreign adults and children respectively.

Besides the pit stop package, he said PPSPM would also introduce the “water taxi” as a new medium of public transport.

It is to make it easier for consumers to move from one destination to another as well as reduce traffic congestion, especially during the school holiday season, he added.