Tioman island gets duty-free boost

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The Malaysian island of Pulau  is set for a major tourism boost after the Government announced recently that it will enjoy duty-free status. Internationally known as one of the ten most beautiful islands in the world, the resort is being promoted as a major destination with new hotel and infrastructure projects planned.

Tioman is expected to attract more tourists from Singapore, putting itself in competition with other resort islands such as Pulau Bintan of Singapore and Bali and Batam of Indonesia.

Duty-free shopping is an important attraction that has enabled such destinations to develop as all-year-round tourist destinations, with significant domestic visitors. For example, another Malaysian island Langkawi has benefited from its duty-free status with tourist arrivals swelling from just a few thousand to 1.8m in 2001. Duty-free operators in Langkawi include MAS Golden Boutique, Sriwani Group (ZON Shopping Paradise) and Colours & Fragrances at the airport and Jetty Point Complex.

Singaporeans make up the largest percentage of Tioman's current tourist arrivals and most are day-trippers. Tioman visitors have increased four-fold from 58,320 in 1987 to over 200,000 in 2001. It becomes the third island in Malaysia to receive duty-free status after Langkawi and Labuan.