Mersing, Johor

Mersing district in Johor is an important southern gateway for ecotourism, as well as coastal and island tourism in the ECER. The tourism sector is developed based on the ‘Rainforest to Reef’ (R2R) concept, focusing not only on its rainforest and island assets but also the integrated urban and coastal tourism assets in Mersing.

Mersing Harbour Centre

Mersing town is an ideal gateway to the beautiful islands off Mersing. The Mersing Harbour Centre is an integrated SME and tourism complex. It also serves as a tourism hub for the area, providing tourists with a one-stop location where they can get a taste of local delicacies as well as shop for handicrafts unique to this district.

Tanjung Penyabong Tourism Development

There are also various coastal tourism attractions in Mersing, such as Tanjung Penyabong and the Air Papan Kampungstay project. The Tanjung Penyabong Waterfront complex features a food court that includes Mersing’s famous Johor ‘Ikan Celup Tepung’ (ICT) stall that sells various deep-fried fritters. The complex also features handicraft kiosks showcasing unique local handicrafts and an upgraded jetty which is the launching point for tourists departing to the nearby islands.

Kampung Air Papan

Located 11 km north of the Mersing town center, Kampung Air Papan is part of the Tenglu locality within Mersing district. It is primarily a fisherman village with approximately 35 families with a population of 160 people. The Kampungstay development project will adopt a Community Based Tourism (CBT) concept where individual Homestay entrepreneurs form synergies through the cooperative that would aggregate their offerings together into a village experience and raise the standard and quality of the tourism sector by leveraging the unique selling proposition (USP) of their village’s uniqueness.

The objective of the project is to uplift the socio-economy of the locals through the creation of entrepreneurial opportunities and jobs via developing local tourism infrastructure and promoting local tourism activities and attractions.

Pusat Informasi & Perkhidmatan Taman Laut Sultan Iskandar

The Sultan Iskandar Marine Park Service and Information Centre (PIPTLSI) is a one-stop information and service centre at Pulau Besar where visitors can learn more about the beauty and local folklore of the islands within the Iskandar Royal Marine Park. Visitors can explore island lifestyles, and enjoy the local legends and folk tales to add to their experience of the mystical nature of Mersing and its magnificent islands.

Find out why Mersing, Johor is an important southern gateway for ecotourism, as well as coastal and island tourism in the ECER: