Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Foreign companies keen to invest in health tourism in Port Dickson

Two foreign companies have shown interest in investing in the "wellness zone" in Port Dickson, known for its tranquil beaches.

Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai said one of the companies was planning to set up a centre to treat cancer patients there.

The wellness zone is designed to not only treat patients but also to provide a tranquil environment for the sick to recuperate.

A 61km zone in Port Dickson, where international spas and other health tourism facilities would be set up for patients to recuperate, and Nilai have been earmarked for the wellness zone.

Lim, who declined to elaborate on the foreign firms, said the International Trade and Industry Ministry was working with the Finance Ministry on incentives for those who want to operate within the wellness zone.

He said this to reporters after opening a health talk on "Team Up For Healthy Heart" at Pantai Putri Hospital on Sunday.

Lim also suggested that Perak had the potential to set up a wellness zone because of its proximity to Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

He added that foreign patients could be drawn to Perak as the state had a high standard but cheap cost of living.

He noted that revenue from foreign patients seeking medical help in private hospitals in the country had been on the rise.

Last year, he said, some 292,000 foreigners seeking medical treatment in the country brought in a revenue of some RM204mil. In 2005, a total of 232,000 foreign patients brought in a revenue of RM151mil.

He added that the figure was expected to grow further this year.



Source : STAR
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Kuching-Macau flight for RM39.99 by AirAsia

Budget airline AirAsia is offering a four-month promotional fare of RM39.99 for its Kuching-Macau flight, which will be launched on Nov 15.

The fare excludes airport taxes, fuel surcharges and fees, and is for one-way travel.

The thrice-weekly flight is AirAsia’s first international connection from Sarawak.

AirAsia Kuching station manager Shanmugamnathan Suppiah said as Macau was an important gateway to Hong Kong and southern China, the direct service would boost the state's tourism.

Sarawak Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer Gracie Geikkie (centre) shake hand with Air Asia station manager Shanmugamnathan together in picture are Sarawak Tourism Federation President Wee Hon Seng (left).
“The Macau route is highly popular among tourists connecting from southern China, Hong Kong and Macau to Kuala Lumpur,” he told reporters at the Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) office in Bangunan Yayasan Sarawak here.

He said AirAsia would consider mounting daily flights if there was good demand from travellers.

STB chief executive officer Gracie Geikie urged local tour operators and hoteliers to come up with special packages to attract expatriates from Macau, and Chinese nationals in the mainland and Hong Kong to spend their holidays in Sarawak.

“ We will meet travel agents and tour operators in Macau, Hong Kong and China to promote the Kuching-Macau service,” she added.

Geikie said the direct flight would reduce travel costs and time for those travelling to Sarawak via Macau and vice-versa.

She also hoped AirAsia would introduce direct flights from Sarawak to other popular destinations like Bangkok.




Source : STAR
[tags : ]

Firefly may fly to Singapore

Another first: Chan receiving passengers on the Firefly inaugural Penang-KL flight in Subang Monday. Next to him (right) is Leong.


Now that AsiaAsia can fly to Singapore, national carrier Malaysia Airlines’ subsidiary Firefly may follow suit.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said that the Government “would certainly give serious consideration” for the national carrier’s subsidiary to fly to the republic from its hub in Subang.

It was a bilateral issue and he would have to raise the matter with his Singapore counterpart at the Asean Transport Ministers Meeting on Thursday, he told newsmen after receiving Firefly’s inaugural flight from Penang, which arrived at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah airport here at 8am yesterday.

The Cabinet last week agreed to give no-frills carrier AirAsia and Singapore’s Tiger Airways Pte Ltd the go-ahead to start flights between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Another first: Chan receiving passengers on the Firefly inaugural Penang-KL flight in Subang Monday. Next to him (right) is Leong.
MAS expressed disappointment over the opening of the KL-Singapore route on a limited basis and had asked that its 100%-owned Firefly be allowed to fly to Singapore from Subang.

Chan said that the decision to allow Firefly to operate from Subang was an extension of the Government’s earlier policy of only allowing turbo propeller aircraft to operate at the airport.

“After we moved (airlines operations) to KL International Airport, the Government continuously enhanced its position as a hub. But we allowed some operations by turbo propeller aircraft at the Subang airport, such as Berjaya Air,” he said when asked why Firefly was allowed to fly from Subang when an earlier request by rival AirAsia was rejected.

Firefly started operations six months ago, flying from Penang to Langkawi, Kota Baru, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Phuket and Koh Samui. Effective yesterday, it commenced twice daily flights between Subang and Penang.

Firefly managing director Eddy Leong said that the Government had also given it the green light to operate from Johor Baru and Kota Kinabalu, adding that Firefly now could link up with many domestic destinations and cities in Indonesia and southern Thailand.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad managing director Datuk Seri Bashir Ahmad said that refurbishment of the Subang airport would be completed in December.



Source : STAR
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Monday, October 29, 2007

Open house for tourists

Foreign tourists had the opportunity to witness Malaysian hospitality when they attended a Hari Raya open house hosted by the Malaysian Tourism Board Malacca branch here.

The function was held at a traditional Malay house in Duyong and the food served included lemang, chicken rendang, ketupat, and Malay kuih like dodol, bahulu, tarts and currypuffs.

Memorable: Buus and his daughters Nanna (second from left) and Freia tasting lemang and chicken rendang offered by Christine Queh at the open house in Duyong, Malacca, recently.
Danish tourist Soren Buus learnt how to sit cross-legged before trying out the dishes with the assistance of state tourism employees.

“It is a new experience I will not forget. My wife and two daughters also loved it,” he said.

Buus said they were amazed by local people using their hands to eat, adding that “once we tried it, we liked it.”

“This my first time at a traditional Malay village, although I have been here for six weeks,” he said

Singaporean Therese Tan said that similar food could be found in Singapore, but it was difficult to enjoy the traditional Malay village environment back home.

State tourism director Ahmad Johanif Mohd Ali said this was the second year a Hari Raya open house was hosted.

“Our intention is to provide an opportunity for foreigners to have the feeling of a celebration in a traditional Malay house,” he said.

He said that more than 100 foreigners from various hotels in the state attended the open house.



Source : STAR
[tags : ]

Terengganu to have international aviation hub

The Sultan Mahmud Airport here will be elevated to an international aviation hub to complement the vigorous development programme under East Coast Economic Region (ECER).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who announced the elevation of the airport status, said this would enable Terengganu to become the gateway to the ECER as well as a major tourism and education hub.

"Although the Sultan Mahmud airport will be the gateway for the ECER, the airports in Kota Baru and Kuantan will be also upgraded to improve," he said at the launching of the ECER at Batu Burok here, on Monday.

Abdullah said the Sultan Mahmud airport was undergoing renovation at a cost of RM123mil and would also see an extension to its runway to enable bigger aircrafts to land.

Abdullah also unveiled several ECER goodies for Terengganu including the Kuala Terengganu City Centre (KTCC) to transform this sleepy hallow into a high impact urban development to signify the town's multi modal role as tourism and investment gateway.

The Prime Minister also announced that Kuala Terengganu would be turned into an ICT nerve centre for ECER with the establishment of the International Business Exchange in Bukit Rakit and the setting up of a global animation hub to create high-end programmes for Hollywood, Korean, Japanese and local production houses.

Terengganu will also become the region's educational hub with the establishment of the 283ha Taman Ilmu (Knowledge Park) that will house six universities and several industrial training centres.





Source : STAR
[tags : ]

Hotel Sector high on Investors’ Radar Screen

FOREIGN groups are coming in greater numbers to acquire hotels in Malaysia, especially in the Klang Valley, to take advantage of the good value and expected strong growth in the industry.

Last year, a whopping 85% of the value of hotel transactions in the country was by foreigners compared with 44% in 2005.

»I think we are going to see a consolidation of hotel ownership« PREVINDRAN SINGHE
Foreign investments in hotels grew by 64% last year with foreigners, including regional chain players, hotel funds, foreign investment funds and individuals, making up 42% of the ownership of 4- and 5-star hotels in Kuala Lumpur now.

According to Zerin Properties chief executive officer Previndran Singhe, the growing interest among foreigners in the hotel sector was triggered by the strong growth in the tourism sector and the economy.

Generally the foreign investors were from the region and the Middle East, he said, adding that there was also a growing interest from investors in Singapore, Thailand and Europe and American funds and hotel chains.

“The advent of low-cost carriers and the strong tourism drive may create an insatiable appetite for hotels,” Previndran told StarBiz.

In the past few years, Zerin Properties has concluded a number of hotel transactions within and outside the country for foreign groups.

“We are basically hotel dealmakers in the region. We are in the midst of concluding a sale in Indochina and selling a resort in the Philippines, and has been appointed by a Middle East fund to negotiate the purchase of hotels in the region.”

Previndran said Zerin was also involved in hotel sales in Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and other emerging markets.

As the exclusive agent for the asset disposal programme of the Sheraton Chain of Hotels in Malaysia, it concluded the sale of the 207-room Sheraton Perdana in Langkawi for RM77.5mil and the 267-room Sheraton Kuantan for RM36.6mil in 2005.

It was also involved in the sale of the 149-room Merlin Johor Baru for RM10.46mil and the 66-room Merlin Inn in Cameron Highlands for RM13.5mil.

Last year, the 100-room Grand Centerpoint in Kuala Lumpur was sold for RM12.5mil, and the latest deal was the sale of the 91-room Four Seasons in Langkawi for RM435mil.

The 452-room Westin Kuala Lumpur was sold for RM455mil in 2006, or a whopping RM1mil a room
“Malaysia has some of the finest hotels in the region and the growing number of foreign brands and players is adding a new dimension to the local hospitality sector.

“The hotels here are on par with other international markets and the local industry is leading in terms of product innovation through products such as The Datai, Hilton Batang Ai and Tune Hotel.

“New hotels coming in with truly leading designs include Maya Hotel and KL Hilton, which are niche in their market positioning and are market leading,” Previndran said.

Renovation work to spruce up some of the leading existing hotels such as Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur, Sheraton Imperial and The Regent is also underway.

With the tourism drive, average room rates (ARR) for 5-star hotels have moved up by at least 20% over the past two years while other categories of hotels have recorded an ARR increase of to 5% 10%.

Hotel occupancy rates in the Klang Valley have also increased from the mid-60's two years ago to about 70% now.

In August, 4- and 5-star hotels recorded an average occupancy rate of 86% while the average room rate climbed to RM361 from below RM300 previously.

“Moving forward, I think we are going to see a consolidation of hotel ownership – from fragmented ownership to chain ownership, and maybe even a hospitality-based real estate investment trust (REIT) like the Starwood REIT in the US.

“These consolidated owners will be locals and foreigners from the region who are already chain owners. There is also a strong Middle Eastern interest coming into the market, mainly in the premium properties,” Previndran said.

He said more top class brands, such as Conrad and Intercontinental, were expected to come into the market in the near future.

“On the other end of the spectrum, more chain-based limited service hotels in the likes of Ibis, Formula 1 and Holiday Inn Express will also be making its presence felt. I also see interest in resort locations picking up tremendously.”

Around the region, Previndran said Vietnam was experiencing a boom in the hotel industry due to shortage of good hotels.

“We see strong opportunities in the Vietnamese cities and resorts for premium and limited service hotels.

“The Philippines is also a good market as the population base is big and its islands are truly a big attraction for the Korean and Japanese markets.

“Australia is also another strong market, with Sydney being the most visited city in the Asia-Pacific.”





Source : STAR
[tags : ]

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Travel Agents welcome Air Asia's flight to Singapore

Malaysian travel agents have welcomed the Government’s move to allow AirAsia to operate low-cost shuttle flights from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) deputy president Datuk Mohd Khalid Harun said the move was received favourably by both travel agents and passengers who anticipate a price war.

“It’s good for all of us as there could be more tourists flocking here and the airlines would compete among each other,” he said after attending the fifth Asia-Pacific eco-tourism conference here yesterday.

The sector had been a duopoly between MAS and Singapore Airlines (SIA) since 1982.

Mohd Khalid said the low-cost carrier terminal in Sepang would also benefit from the move as more passengers would use its facilities for connecting flights to other destinations.

“It’s a win-win situation for all of us and Matta welcomes the decision by the Government,” he said.

Mohd Khalid said Matta also supported the call by the Tourism Ministry to establish a Malaysian Eco-Tourism Association to promote holidaying packages locally.




Source : STAR
[tags : ]

Friday, October 26, 2007

VM2008 promotion to attract Chinese tourists

Local tourism bureaus and tour operators in eastern China have been well informed of the extension of Visit Malaysia Year to next year.

Promotional activities and tour packages for VM2008 are being rolled out in Shanghai and Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, starting with a winter series promotion.

“We have been doing courtesy calls and informing our counterparts especially the provincial tourism bureaus that the campaign has been extended to August next year,” tourism consul in Shanghai Edzuar Zar Ayob said after launching the winter promotion at a hotel here on Tuesday.

“There will be a lot of activities to be initiated by our Shanghai office and top officials. We want to impart such information to the bureaus, which in turn tell tour operators under their purview.”

The promotion, priced between 3,380 (RM1,520) and 5,980 yuan (RM2,680), offers Chinese tourists a five-day-four-night escape at resorts in Tanjung Jara, Langkawi, Pangkor, Tioman and Pantai Dalit with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur.

Tourism Malaysia signed a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia Airlines and 11 local travel agencies to come up with tailor-made tour packages at discounted rates based on a list of resorts and hotels.

The promotion targets Chinese executives and free-and-easy travellers aged between 20 and 40.

Tourism Malaysia expects to see 10% more tourist arrivals from China throughout the three-month promotion in view that winter is usually a good time for the Chinese to travel.

Edzuar said VM2007 was a campaign driven by the 50 major events held throughout the year but next year Tourism Malaysia would not only promote such events but also specific destinations.

“This allows tourists not only to enjoy the facilities at the resorts and surrounding areas but also to celebrate together in the event,” he added.




Source : STAR
[tags : ]

AirAsia gets the nod for flights to Singapore

The Cabinet has agreed for low-cost carriers to fly from Malaysia to Singapore.

"We have made a decision," Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said when asked about reports that the Cabinet had given the nod for AirAsia to fly to Singapore.

On whether this meant the Government was in favour of liberalising the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route, the Prime Minister said "yes."



Now everyone can fly cheap to Singapore. AirAsia got the nod from the Government yesterday to operate two flights daily to the republic.

It is learnt that the Cabinet gave the nod at its weekly meeting. This decision comes a few days after Singapore's Transport Ministry said that it was keen to see further liberalisation of the air services agreement with Malaysia.

According to sources, Tiger Airways, Singapore’s own budget airline, would also be offered to fly the same route.

“This means that travellers will have a choice of not only one low-cost carrier to Singapore but two. This will surely spark a price war,” an aviation analyst commented.

On average, MAS flies seven shuttle flights a day to Singapore while SIA does it six times daily.

For the shuttle service, which is jointly operated by the two airlines, the price of a one-way ticket is RM167 while an economy non-shuttle one is RM266. Airport tax and surcharges cost RM140.

AirAsia and Tiger Airways are expected to charge about 30% of the non-shuttle fare but will have the usual cheap offers for limited seats. The two low-cost carriers will operate the route between the LCCT at KLIA and the Budget Terminal at Changi Airport.

It was learnt that AirAsia and Tiger Airways would only be allowed to operate the two flights each on off-peak hours. Sources expected the two carriers to start operations in January.

The analyst said the decision would be a big boost to the two airlines as Singapore and Malaysia were two popular international hubs aimed at different markets.

“The cheaper 40-minute flight between KLIA and Changi airports will mean more international passengers stopping in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur to make the extra hop to either place.

“AirAsia will benefit more than Tiger Airways because of the regional connections it already has. Couple that with the coming of AirAsia X, they will be able to even pull long-haul passengers from Singapore,” he added.

AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes could not be contacted for comment. AirAsia officials said he had flown to Singapore.

Fernandes had been vocal about the reluctance of the two governments to allow budget airlines to operate between the two countries ahead of the Asean open skies agreement, which will come into force in 2009.


Source : STAR1 2
[tags : ]

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Air Asia flies to Singapore

Now everyone can fly cheap to Singapore. AirAsia got the nod from the Government yesterday to operate two flights daily to the republic.

It is learnt that the Cabinet gave the nod at its weekly meeting. This decision comes a few days after Singapore's Transport Ministry said that it was keen to see further liberalisation of the air services agreement with Malaysia.

According to sources, Tiger Airways, Singapore’s own budget airline, would also be offered to fly the same route.

“This means that travellers will have a choice of not only one low-cost carrier to Singapore but two. This will surely spark a price war,” an aviation analyst commented.

On average, MAS flies seven shuttle flights a day to Singapore while SIA does it six times daily.

For the shuttle service, which is jointly operated by the two airlines, the price of a one-way ticket is RM167 while an economy non-shuttle one is RM266. Airport tax and surcharges cost RM140.

AirAsia and Tiger Airways are expected to charge about 30% of the non-shuttle fare but will have the usual cheap offers for limited seats. The two low-cost carriers will operate the route between the LCCT at KLIA and the Budget Terminal at Changi Airport.

It was learnt that AirAsia and Tiger Airways would only be allowed to operate the two flights each on off-peak hours. Sources expected the two carriers to start operations in January.

The analyst said the decision would be a big boost to the two airlines as Singapore and Malaysia were two popular international hubs aimed at different markets.

“The cheaper 40-minute flight between KLIA and Changi airports will mean more international passengers stopping in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur to make the extra hop to either place.

“AirAsia will benefit more than Tiger Airways because of the regional connections it already has. Couple that with the coming of AirAsia X, they will be able to even pull long-haul passengers from Singapore,” he added.

AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes could not be contacted for comment. AirAsia officials said he had flown to Singapore.

Fernandes had been vocal about the reluctance of the two governments to allow budget airlines to operate between the two countries ahead of the Asean open skies agreement, which will come into force in 2009.




Source : STAR
[tags : ]

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Malaysia International Gourmet Festival

The Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) next month will see the inclusion of the Malaysia Truly Asia Cuisine showcase.

The showcase-cum-competition will have 30 master chefs create a menu with global appeal. It will combine the traditional ingredients and influences of Malaysian and Asian cuisine.

“This is one of the new elements that MIGF has added to the festival after winning the Gold Award for Marketing in the Industry Category at the recent Pacific Asia Travel Association Travel Mart (Pata),” said festival organising chairman Datuk Steve Day.

He said the win had increased the country’s prominence as an international food tourism destination.

Celebrating good food: Tengku Adnan (centre), officials and chefs posing for a group photo at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur Monday. Standing next to Tengku Adnan on his left is Day.

A panel of international food experts and writers will judge the menus and dishes. Each menu will be accompanied by an account of the source of its inspiration.

“Who knows, this competition might just churn out the next signature Malaysia cuisine,” said Day.

Adding further international interest to this year’s festival is the introduction of Gourmet Tours Malaysia – designed to allow travellers and global food lovers to sample the best of local cuisine during the MIGF.

“Tour gourmets will be chauffeured to and from the airport and the various participating restaurants of their choice, and have the opportunity to take tours of Kuala Lumpur, select from a range of optional spa and golf packages and take cooking lessons in Malaysian, Japanese or international cuisine,” Day said.

Thirty restaurants will be participating in this year’s MIGF.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, who was at the launch, commended the organiser’s efforts and said Tourism Malaysia would be flying in several international food writers to publicise the festival and participating restaurants.

MIGF 2007 will be held from Nov 2 to 30. For details of participating restaurants or the festival, call 03-2282 8028 or visit www.migf.com.

The Star is a media partner of the MIGF 2007.




Source : STAR
[tags : ]

Singapore set to woo Malay tourists

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will launch an aggressive campaign – Uniknya Singapura – to woo bumiputras to visit the island nation.

Its Southern & Eastern Malaysia area director Albert Poon said STB would also work closely with Malaysian bumiputra travel agents to work out packages for the Malay market.

“We would undertake an aggressive campaign, with an attractive Malay jingle in television commercials, advertisements in Malay newspapers and consumer promotions next month,” he said.

This is the first time that STB would be undertaking a promotion to woo this segment of the market in Malaysia, he said, adding that a stream of Chinese and Indian visitors from Malaysia have been visiting Singapore over the past decade.

Poon said the campaign was also aimed at addressing the concerns of bumiputras on the availability of halal food restaurants as well as mosques on the island.

He said that in a survey, it was found that 70% of bumiputras in Johor had never set foot in Singapore and this was one of the reasons for a campaign to woo them to the island.

Poon said visitors from India, China, Malaysia and Australia topped arrivals to Singapore last year.

“Last year, we had 9.7 million visitors last year and have recorded 5.7 million arrivals in the first seven months of this year and hope to exceed 10.5 million this year.”

Poon said special tours have been created for the visitors including the annual ZoukOut dance festival and the Christmas festivities.

“We are providing free shuttle service between Johor Baru City Square and Orchard Road between Nov 17 and Jan 1, 2008, with a mystery prize for five winners every week.

“We also provide shopping vouchers for each even trip.”

He said that every Malaysian who spend S$50 (RM115) using their Citibank credit card between Sep 15 and Jan 11, 2008 in the island republic, would be eligible to win prizes in a lucky draw which included a MINI Cooper convertible.

“Any visitor spending S$800 (RM1,840) in a single day will walk away with a Creative Zen Stone Plus Audio Player, with a limit of 25 pieces every week until Jan 11 next year,” he said.




Source : STAR
[tags : ]

Woman wakes up naked in budget hotel

A 21-year-old factory worker in Bayan Lepas went for a night out with a fisherman she had known for five years and woke up naked the next morning in a budget hotel with pain in her private parts.

She has lodged a police report that she was raped.

All the woman could remember was that she was with the man, in his 20s, at a nightspot in Light Street until about midnight on Oct 15.

She woke up at 4am and found herself naked in the hotel room with pain in her private parts but the man was nowhere to be found.

She managed to make her way home to Batu Maung and told her parents about the matter a few days later. A report was lodged at the central police station on Friday.

Police are now looking for the man to help in investigations.

In a separate incident, a Nepalese was robbed of RM300 and his handphone by 10 Indonesian men after being beaten unconscious early yesterday.

The victim was on his way home after work when the gang confronted him at 2am. He tried to put up a fight but was overwhelmed.




Source : STAR
[tags : ]

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Malacca tourism soars

The tourism industry contributed RM14mil or two-thirds of the RM21mil in service taxes collected by the state last year, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said here.

He said the industry provided employment to 24,000 workers or 16% of the workforce in the service sector.

Opening the RM68mil Holiday Inn Melaka in Banda Hilir recently, Mohd Ali said the tourism industry contributed RM2.5bil last year and this was forecast to increase to RM3bil due to the Visit Malaysia 2007 campaign.

“The state has spent several million ringgit on infrastructure and promotions for tourism,” he said, adding that the state received RM40mil to build tourism products under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

Mohd Ali said the state was committed to support the tourism industry and urged the hotel sector to work hard to attract tourists.

“We hope the hoteliers will help in achieving the target of eight million tourists,” he said.

He said the state had received 3.071 million tourists in the first seven months of this year, with 2.38 million or 77.5% being domestic tourists and the remaining 690,139 or 22.5% foreign tourists.

Mohd Ali said there was an increase of 183,991 people or 8.4% of domestic tourists and an increase of 84,668 or 14% of foreign tourists compared to the same period last year.

He said that Chinese tourists were the biggest with 17,294 followed by Singaporens (15,031), Indonesian (13,023), Vietnamese (5,241) and Indian (3,921).




Source : STAR
[tags : ]

Monday, October 01, 2007

Aussie praises MICE facilities at KL Convention Centre

One of Australia’s leading event managers has described Malaysia’s convention and hospitality facilities as exceptional.

Incentive House, which took 830 business tourists to Kuala Lumpur recently, was so impressed with the facilities that it is proposing to three other large companies that they select Malaysia for their conventions.

Its managing director Joanne Stanton said: “Everything about our visit to KL have been exceptional.

“The convention centre at KLCC was exceptional, The Traders Hotel where we stayed was exceptional, the facilities and reception were exceptional and the options for a longer stay were exceptional.

“Our group had a wonderful five days in KL and we were pleasantly surprised at what Malaysia had to offer in terms of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) facilities.”

Stanton said many members from her group, which she did not want to name for privacy reasons, extended their stay in Malaysia, with Penang being the popular destination.

“I am so impressed after my stay in KL that I am encouraging three other corporations to hold their offshore conferences in Malaysia,” she said.

Another Australian promoter of business tourism, Liberty Events, took about 300 sales executives from a pharmaceutical company to Kuala Lumpur earlier this year for their five-day meeting and they too have returned with glowing reports of their stay.

Liberty’s managing director Lex Diamond said all services in KL were of “very high quality and we were impressed with the first class facilities”.

Earlier this year, Tourism Malaysia in Melbourne took 10 event managers Australia wide on a familiarisation tour of Malaysia and this is paying dividends.




Source : STAR
[tags : ]

Hotel Maya's Chef lets his experience loose in the kitchen

AFTER years of experience in the hotel industry, Malay Cuisine Chef Hasbullah Sabani, 37, at Hotel Maya can hold court on his own and he does just that for the hotel’s Ramadhan promotion.

Sweet delights: Various Nyonya kuih are also available at the buffet line.
Hasbullah has been to various parts of the world to learn and exchange cooking knowledge. Through his travels, he had the opportunity to learn to mix different cooking styles together.

He has been with the hotel for four years and, during his stint, has put his knowledge to good use by churning up mouth-watering dishes especially during Ramadhan.

Maya Brasserie is promoting an array of dishes from Nyonya to Indian to Malay and a Nyonya/Malay combination that suits the tastes of the various races in the country.

All set: Hasbullah putting some final touches to some of the dishes on the buffet line.
“The dishes are not too spicy, which will also be a welcome respite for foreigners who want to have a taste of Malaysia during this holy month,” Hasbullah said.

He has just returned from a chef's tour to Paris, organised by Tourism Malaysia.

Hasbullah added that Malaysia has got various spices, which gives him a free hand to make full use of them to create his culinary masterpieces.

One of his favourite experiments is the different ways he cooks salmon by experimenting with local spices.

Maya Brasserie can accommodate between 180-200 people and the Buka Puasa promotion is priced at RM65++ per person.

  • Hotel Maya Kuala Lumpur, 138 Jalan Ampang, KL (Tel: 03-2711 8866). Buka Puasa (daily from 7pm-10.30pm) until October 12.




  • Source : STAR
    [tags : ]

    MASWings takes to the skies

    Newly formed MASWings takes to the east Malaysian skies today.

    It has taken over the rural air service sector in Sabah and Sarawak from Fly Asian Xpress (FAX).

    The subsidiary of national carrier Malaysia Airlines starts operations promising to revitalise air transportation in the two vast states.

    There are more than a million rural folks in Sarawak and Sabah still living in isolated settlements where air service is the only means of swift transportation to towns and cities.

    Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud is scheduled to launch the inaugural MASWings flight from the Mulu National Park, some 250km inland from here, this morning.

    MASWings managing director Dr Amin Khan said the airline would operate about 200 weekly flights covering 29 destinations in Sarawak and Sabah, using 19-seater Twin Otter and 50-seater Fokker aircraft.

    He said the airline plans to also fly new routes not previously served by FAX, such as between Miri and Kota Kinabalu.

    He said the two destinations, which house two world heritage sites in Malaysia, are popular among foreigners.

    “Feedback from travel agents all over the world indicated a tremendous response from tourists in Japan, mainland Europe, Britain and the United States to the news that we will be taking over the flights to Mulu,” he told The Star.

    “Mulu is a tourism jewel,” said Dr Amin, when interviewed here.

    He added that there had been more than 6,000 online bookings for seats on MASWings since the takeover was announced.

    Asked to comment on the development, Sarawak Tourism Board chief executive officer Gracie Geikie said since the takeover by MASWings of the rural service was announced some two months ago, the momentum has picked up.

    She said the board has received favourable response in many countries after it made more efforts to promote Sarawak following a series of flight connection woes in the past 12 months.




    Source : STAR
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