Monsoon Cup most prestigious locations for sailing
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the Monsoon Cup, which is synonymous with Pulau Duyong here, has succeeded in establishing Terengganu as among the most prestigious locations for sailing in the world.
Although the achievement is difficult to measure in terms of statistics, it is cannot be denied that since the event was introduced in 2004, various sectors in this east coast state have benefited either directly or indirectly.
The most obvious difference can be seen in Terengganu’s flourishing tourism industry, whereby local and foreign tourists alike flock to the state all year round.
Monsoon Cup director Datuk Wan Hisham Wan Salleh said certain intangible objectives were also achieved a result of the state staging the Monsoon Cup, among which were breaking the psychological barrier where many considered Terengganu as not suitable to be visited during certain seasons.
“Hotel accomodation records have shown that before the event was introduced, there was a lack of tourists during the monsoon season. No one was interested to visit Terengganu during the rainy season.
“However, since the Monsoon Cup started, hotel bookings have been encouraging. This year I was told that most of the hotels are fully booked,” he told Bernama here recently.
In terms of the economy, Wan Hisham said there were also positive indications, although it had been said before that organising the Monsoon Cup was a waste for the state government and unbeneficial to the locals.
He said Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said had also admitted that the state government profited from advertisements when the championship was watched by over 1.2 billion viewers worldwide.
Meanwhile, former Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said the event also generated long-term investments to help the growth of the state economy.
Idris said several years ago a Dutch company, Conoship International B.V, invested RM1 billion to build 20 luxury cruise ships in Terengganu for the European market.
Commenting further, Wan Hisham added that the bazaar held each time during the championship presented lucrative opportunities to local traders.
“A traditional cakes and cookies seller who sold chocolate and strawberry flavoured ‘buah rotan’ raked in RM1,000 daily throughout the event.
“Two years ago a Monsoon Cup spectator spent RM200,000 to buy Terengganu songket. We cannot see this in statistics, but these are among the benefits enjoyed by the locals due to the event,” he said, adding that although the income of fishermen was affected during the rainy season, there were other ways to compensate for it.
According to the agreement reached upon with the organiser, T-Best Events, and the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT), the annual event will be held until 2012.
“Our hopes to see more local participants in the sport is also becoming a reality as we are seeing more new teams taking part each year.
“In time, it is not impossible that this sport will be as popular as other sports in the country with its own sets of fans and followers,” said Wan Hisham.
Wan Hisham said the development of the sport was also clearly seen, with improving quality and increases in number of prizes offered.
The championship’s adviser, Datuk Peter Gilmour, said the Monsoon Cup 2009 to be held from Dec 1 to 6 will offer the biggest purse ever offered in any world sailing event, reaching USD454,000 (RM1.57 million).
The event will once again see the participation of international sailors such as Adam Minoprio from New Zealand, Ian Williams (Britain) and Torvar Mirsky (Australia).
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