KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said he was confident Malaysia could achieve the target of attracting 20.1 million tourists during Visit Malaysia Year 2007.
He said the success of VMY 2007 would only be seen by end of the year, but currently everything is smooth flowing, and God willingly the target of 20.1mil tourists for the year would be achieved.
"Daily our airports are jam packed, the occupancy rate at the hotels are high, and furthermore we are not only concentrating on Kuala Lumpur, but our tourists are also dispersed to other parts of the country.
"With only one Ferris wheel at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, we are drawing a huge crowd there, so what are this people talking about the VMY 2007 being lembab (slow),'' he told reporters after announcing the Malaysia Grand Prix Sale 2007 to be held from March 24 to April 22.
He said this when a reporter asked him to comment on some associations' statements that there was no difference in the environment compared to previous years although it was Visit Malaysia Year 2007 and tourists were arriving slowly.
When asked to comment on a report in a newspaper that Malaysia has been placed 88th among the world's most expensive destinations this year, Tengku Adnan said it was not correct.
"Our five-star hotels are only US$72 compared to a similar room in Indonesia which is US$120.
"I have not read the report and I am not sure how far it can be trusted,'' he said.
It was not the cheapest, but it was definitely a value for money destination.
On the Malaysia GP Sale 2007, Tengku Adnan said tourists, arrivals for the month of March and April (F1 race months) last year were 1.5mil and 1.4mil respectively an increase of 8.6% and 8.0% compared to 1.4mil (March) and 1.3mil (April) tourists in 2005.
He said this year the ministry estimated more than 1.8mil tourists would be visiting Malaysia in the month of March.
"The estimated tourist shopping receipts collected for March 2006 was RM3bil, and for this year we are targeting more than RM3.6bil to be generated during the months of March and April,'' he added.
He also advised frontliners especially in shopping malls, to smile and be friendly to tourists and to provide the best services.
"For the sale, decorate the roads and shopping complexes to ensure that it attracts the tourists,'' he added.
Check out shoppingNsales for the Best Shopping deals
Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]
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