Perak among world’s top 10 tourist destinations for 2017
Perak has made it to the ninth spot of one of the world’s top 10 regions to visit in 2017 by renowned travel guidebook publisher Lonely Planet.
The recognition was listed in “Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2017” that was released yesterday.
Topping the listwas Choquequirao (Peru), followed by Taranaki (New Zealand), The Azores (Portugal), North Wales (United Kingdom), South Australia, Aysén (Chile), The Tuamotus (French Polynesia) and Coastal Georgia (United States). At 10th spot was The Skellig Ring in Ireland.
“Perak’s capital, Ipoh, is nurturing a bloom of vintage-style cafes and boutiques.
“The nucleus of this old-meetsnew makeover is Kong Heng Block, surrounding the imaginative Sekeping Kong Heng hotel,” it wrote.
There were also many cheerfuloutlets, including stalls that could attract crowds to shop, dawdle and slurp ais kepal (ice balls) in the Old Town part of the city, it said.
It was just in July that Lonely Planet listed Ipoh at number six of the 10 best Asian destinations to visit. The latest listing coincides with Visit Perak Year 2017.
The decision-making process on the listing was made by the Lonely Planet’s community of writers, editors, online bloggers and Twitters.
Hundreds of places would be shortlisted by a panel of in-house travel experts according to criteria such as topicality, excitement and “wow” factor.
Perak Tourism Association president Odzman Abdul Kadir said they were proud that the state was getting the recognition it deserved.
He, however, cautioned all stakeholders, including the state government and the private sector, that they need to live up to expectations.