AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani told reporters Wednesday that this hub would serve the region and beyond and was part of the airline’s expansion strategy.
He said the hub would be used for flights from Malaysia to Middle Eastern destinations as well as from the Middle East to Europe.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the rate now was at the commercial rate just like other business premises.
She said the effort was to raise the image of MMSC, especially in terms of brightness of business outlets.
"Shopping complexes will have to be fitted with special meters for the new rates," she said after presenting prizes to winners of the MMSC Awards here yesterday.
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur and Sunway Pyramid won awards for being best in the Thematic Decoration category while Mid Valley Megamall and 1 Utama Shopping Centre were best in the Promotions and Events category.
Marina Bay Sands expects MICE business to be in full swing in five years
Marina Bay Sands, the US$5.5bil integrated resort in Singapore, is expected to see its meeting, incentive, convention and exhibitions (MICE) business run at capacity in three to five years after the resort opens its doors early next year.
President and chief operating officer Michael A. Leven said it would take time for Marina Bay Sands to attract the biggest and leading conventions and trade shows but he was confident that Asia’s largest ballroom would see its enormous capacity taken up in a matter of time.
“It is going to take a couple of years. Usually in the hospitality and convention industry, the problem is some of these conventions get booked four to five years in advance, especially the very large ones,” he said in a briefing.
“It’s going to take some time before that frees up.”
Leven was speaking after the topping-up ceremony of Marina Bay Sands earlier this month.
The Marina Bay Sands construction site stands along a major highway in Singapore. The US$5.5bil Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino project is expected to open in January or February. – AP When completed, the resort’s MICE facilities would cater to 45,000 delegates.
There will be 250 meeting rooms at the facility and the building is able to host 2,000 booths.
The ballroom alone can cater up to 11,000 people in a single event.
“I view this particular product as being the dominant Asian MICE building and Singapore has tremendous appeal internationally. I don’t see why this won’t be on the circuit of the major trade shows,” said Leven.
“The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is sold out and it is not very big, We get a shot at that (business).”
On its own, the MICE business will not be a tremendous profit centre for the resort as Leven said it would feed onto what the rest of the integrated resort had to offer.
The resort would be cashflow positive within the first couple of months of operations, said Leven.
Marina Bay Sands is the most expensive “casino” in the Las Vegas Sands group.
The iconic development features three 55-storey hotels that will have a 375m long SkyPark on the top of the hotels. The SkyPark will have 1ha of open space.
Leven said Marina Bay Sands would have greater variety than the group’s business in Macau in its present configuration.
“Macau is heavily gaming-orientated. We are in the process of building our MICE and tourist businesses there but it is a much smaller situation because of the nature of Macau as a destination,” he said.
Leven said Singapore was more couple- and family-friendly than Macau had traditionally been.
“A higher percentage of our business will come from non-gaming operations than Macau today. Over the future we expect Macau to change its percentage as the Cotai Strip gets more built up. Marina Bay Sands will be more typical of Las Vegas than Macau is today,” he said.
Leven was also cordial when discussing the competition between Marina Bay Sands and Genting’s Resorts World at Sentosa saying the two resorts complement instead of compete with each other.
“I think Genting is a significant addition. I like the idea. I know it sounds strange liking Genting there because I think it’s going to help the overall tourist attraction base to Singapore itself,” he said.
Leven said the promotional activity by both integrated resorts would only help and their respective themes and features would be enough to differentiate one from another.
“From a marketing perspective, Sentosa will be more a family-orientated resort than we will. There will be some meeting and small MICE competition.
“From a competition standpoint and from the business travel, there will not be a significant amount of competition.
“There is a very big difference between the two places,” he said, adding that competition would be limited to the VIP and premium players at their respective casinos.
Leven said that once Marina Bay Sands fully opened, the number of people on its premises should average between 50,000 and 75,000 daily.
It would go as high as 100,000 people on certain days. The visitors to the Macau Venetian is roughly 65,000 people a day.
Marina Bay Sands is counting on attracting a large number of visitors from Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Thailand.
Even the vote of no confidence was controversial because it took place during an event to hand over duties last Thursday and those who voted for it were 16 members of the new exco of president Datuk Joshua Peter Tan.
This prompted Tan to call for a press conference on Wednesday to clear the air and reveal the results of investigations into the alleged phantom voters.
“There will be no cover up. The report will be open to all for scrutiny. We are quite certain that there are no phantom voters in the registry,” he said.
Tan labelled the meeting during which the no-confidence votes was tabled as illegal.
“It was an illegal sitting of past and present exco members which took place after the handover ceremony and before the new exco meeting. It is not provided for in the association’s constitution,” he said.
Tan said according to the constitution, any vote must amount to two-thirds of the 33 members of the exco.
On complaints that he had ignored requests by some current exco members to discuss issues during the hand-over ceremony, Tan said it was to be discussed during the exco meeting scheduled for later that day.
“We could not discuss it in the morning as the outgoing exco members were there and they had no locus standi,” he added.
Immediate past-president Ngiam Foon said the 16 exco members formed a majority out of the 24 current exco members present during the handover ceremony.
When contacted, each of the 16 members said they were from the current exco line up and they had all agreed to support the motion of no-confidence.
Kedah chapter chairman Ahmad Pishol Ishak pointed out that members respected the chair and was ready to work with him.
Federal Territory representative Ramchand D. said Tan ignored the fact that the minutes of the last exco meeting held on May 30 had to be discussed during last week’s handover.
“This is simply to ensure continuity,” he said.
Vice-president for ticketing K. Thangavelu said while he agreed with Tan in certain areas, he regretted the way the new president had conducted last week’s meeting.
“The other exco members just wanted to go through the items they wanted to be included in the agenda,” he said.
Ngiam claimed that Tan could not have legally adjourned the meeting and left the room with seven of his exco members.
Six hotels in the city have been targetted with the latest reported on July 15, though it is still unclear whether this is a single group or several acting with the same mode of operation.
Hoteliers are now deeply concerned with the number of incidents that have occurred since May.
These sets of pictures show foreigners, believed to be Latin Americans, at work. (Click here to see CCTV images)
In one, a woman, elegantly dressed, snatches a purse as she walks past a table at a hotel coffee house at breakfast time. The crime went unnoticed and was only later detected on closed circuit television CCTV cameras. She was not caught.
Malay Mail in the past, has carried several articles on Latin American syndicates targetting hotel guests and making off with their belongings.
Some have been arrested while some are still at large. Those arrested have been prosecuted, jailed and deported.
These are images taken from several hotels in the city which have become the syndicates latest victims.
In the latest case on July 15, the suspects, in a group of three - two males and a female - made off with a luggage belonging to a hotel guest.
Their act was caught on CCTV cameras in which they seemed to have followed the victim into the hotel.
The victim placed his backpack on the floor behind him. A male suspect, wearing a black jacket, pretends to be a tour agent, with a white tag on his jacket.
Meanwhile, the female suspect pretends to be a hotel guest while another male suspect observes the surrounding.
It was so well planned, that the victim did not notice his bag had been stolen at first. The hotel was alerted to the incident later.
The syndicate not only strike at the lobby but also coffee houses and conference rooms, mingling with the crowd before making their move.
They have made off with laptops, digital cameras, purses, handbags and luggage all in broad daylight.
In one case, a suspect was arrested while trying to escape with a luggage.
He was caught by a bell boy who noticed him walking away with a bag belonging to a hotel guest. He was stopped and arrested. His accomplice, a woman, however, managed to escape. This attempted theft occurred on July 2.
July 8, 2008: The “Snake Charmers”, a Middle- Eastern couple, with a child, stole money through hypnotism and sleight of hand. They were spotted near a five-star hotel in Jalan Bukit Bintang approaching its entrance at 11pm. As the child played around the entrance the couple scouted for potential victims. However, they were recognised by hotel security and ran off before they could be caught. The “snake charmers” are believed to have struck more than 10 times in Kuala Lumpur and other States in the last two years.
Sept 20, 2008: A suspect, believed to be Middle Eastern or Latin American caught on CCTV footage, stole a room key card from a guest at the poolside and immediately went up to the room and stole her valuables. The guest went back to her room with a replacement key, to discover her laptop, wireless mouse, Internet cable and plug, computer case and digital camera missing. Earlier that same day at 3pm, the suspect had struck at another hotel and stole a woman’s handbag while she went to the toilet with her children. Though she was with her husband, he was too busy reading the newspapers to realise what had happened.
Sept 26, 2008: A hotel burglar, thought to be of Middle Eastern or Latin American origin, was caught on CCTV in five-star hotels in the city. In a late night incident on Sept 18, a hotel guest checking in at the counter, placed his luggage beside him on the floor. While the guest was busy, a man stood behind him, as though he was also queuing behind him but calmly bent down and took the guest’s hand-carry luggage, placed it on his shoulder and stood there for a few seconds before walking off.
Aug 23, 2008: A woman, masquerading as an Arab during the “Arab season”, snuck up to an Arab family having breakfast at a hotel in Batu Ferringhi and grabbed a handbag that was on a chair. However, the theft was noticed and she was held by the father of the family and sent to the Batu Ferringhi police station.
Aug 24, 2008: A female guest from a hotel in Penang was checking out and had placed her handbag next to a sofa in the hotel lobby before going to the reception counter to settle her bill. She returned to the sofa minutes later and found her handbag missing, losing her IC, credit cards, car keys and RM3,000. CCTV recordings showed three South American men sitting down on the sofa next to the woman, eyeing her handbag closely. They had dropped a set of keys on the floor to distract the woman.
April 17, 2009: Korean national Kevin Kee Bung Rhee, 46, lost his laptop, pda, and camera to a wily thief when he was at the check-in counter of the Petaling Jaya Hilton. He had placed his hand luggage beside him and it suddenly went missing. CCTV footage showed a man dressed in a T-shirt, long pants and sneakers, reaching out beside Kee and making off with his luggage.
HOTEL 1
A sequence of A woman and a man believed to be Latin American went in a coffee shop and made off with valuables including a purse which victims left on their tables while they went to get the food from the buffet counter during breakfast time. They were all smartly dressed and walked out of the hotel coolly minutes later.
HOTEL 3 (JULY 3)
Two suspects made off with a bag belonging to
the woman seen in the image. She left her bag
at the table while she joined her husband and
son at the buffet counter.
HOTEL 4 (JULY 11)
Two men believed to be Latin American leaving
a hotel. The guy in front has a camera bag slung
on his shoulder. The camera which was worth
about RM1,300 was stolen from a lounge of a hotel
in the city. They were believed to be the same
suspects that struck a hotel in Ampang last month.
HOTEL 5 (JULY 13)
A suspect carrying a laptop bag which was said
to have been stolen from a function at a hotel.
He easily moved in and mixed with the crowd and
no one noticed anything amiss as no one knew
each other.
HOTEL 6 (JULY 15)
The foreigners said to be a Latin American Gang
that made off with a luggage belonging to a hotel
guest. There are three of them.
In welcoming another theme park to Pahang, the Mentri Besar said he was happy to note that such a big project could still proceed as planned despite the current global economic crisis.
“This shows that with the right approach and good management, any business venture can succeed,” he said after opening the Bukit Gambang Water Park in Gambang near here.
“In this regard, I urge all businessmen particularly bumiputras, to emulate our Chinese counterparts in ensuring the success of their projects,” he said.
Adnan said he was confident that the park would attract more visitors both Malaysians and foreigners to the state, echoing the success of Genting Highlands.
He said visitors could enjoy a smoother and faster journey via the East Coast Expressway.
The theme park is the first in the east coast offering an 8.1ha man-made lake, largest wave pool with eight modes of waves, longest family raft ride and six-lane racer slide complete with timing scoreboard.
It is part of the development of Bukit Gambang Resort City, an integrated resort city, built based on the concept of nature preservation and family-oriented attractions.
The number of Middle Eastern tourists visiting Malaysia this month and next could plunge by half based on initial data obtained from travel agencies.
Traditionally, more Arab tourists reach Malaysia in the third quarter alone than in the first half of the year.
They also spend three times more than the average tourist.
Based on the RM6,070 spending per person, a 50 per cent drop in arrivals could result in potential revenue loss of RM300 million for the country.
While the tourism industry had expected a decline in arrivals given the shorter summer prior to the fasting month of Ramadan, they did not expect the number to be halved.
Factors cited for the decline, apart from the global economic crisis and influenza A(H1N1), included the lack of advertisements in the Arab world this year.
In July-September last year, Middle East tourist arrivals fell 6.3 per cent to 108,665 from the comparable period in 2007.
Travel agents are bracing for worse this year.
Asia Overland Services Tour And Travels group managing director Anthony Wong said its inbound market from the Middle East had dropped 40-50 per cent.
"We used to bring in 18,000 to 22,000 in July and August. Now, we are not busy at all," he told Business Times.
"This time around, we have been told by our agents in the Middle East that there has been a lack of advertisements compared to previous years," Wong said.
World Express Tours group president Tunku Iskandar Tunku Abdullah said that business at his agency had fallen 70 per cent in terms of tourist arrivals as well as value.
"Currently, even forward booking is down due to the lack of advertisements in the Middle East," Tunku Iskandar said.
He said that agents in the Middle East had told him that there had been a significant drop in advertisements on Malaysia compared to previous years.
"They tell me that there is very little promotion that consumers can see compared to previously and to advertisements to other destinations like Thailand, Singapore and Australia."
Asia Experience Tours, touted as the largest agency for inbound travel from the Middle East, is expecting a more than 40 per cent drop in business in terms of tourist numbers and value.
Its chief executive officer Ngiam Foon described this year as a "disaster", citing the economic crisis, H1N1 outbreak and other, better, deals offered by regional competitors.
"This year, they are not coming in big numbers," he said.
Calls to the secretary-general of the Ministry of Tourism went unanswered.
It is understood that the advertisement and promotion budget alone for Middle East countries in 2007 and last year was around RM20 million.
In reality, the amount is far more when the cost of its officers' fees, mega familiarisation programme, agent incentives and contributions from airlines are taken into account.
Last week, the Minister of Tourism revised downwards the projection for tourist arrivals this year to 19 million from 20 million.
As international traveller numbers drop around the globe, Malaysia is bucking the trend reporting an increase of 3.5% in the number of international travellers arriving in the country in the first half of the year.
11.3 million international visitors stepped past the country’s borders this January to June period, a 3.5% increase when compared to the same six months in 2008. ?June alone saw a 7.5% jump in international travellers to 2.1 million travellers.
“The top ten tourist generating markets for June 2009 were Singapore (1,222,096), Indonesia (215,948), Thailand (107,526), Brunei (107,083), China (including Hong Kong & Macau) (58,351), India (57,603), Australia (39,536), the Philippines (37,701), the United Kingdom (32,962) and Japan (25,924),” said Tourism Malaysia in a statement.
Surprisingly Iranian arrivals were the biggest growth market, jumping some 94.2% in June when compared to June 2008.? Iran was followed by and Canada, with massive 65.5% and 51.7% growth rates respectively.
Slightly closer, New Zealand and Australian arrivals also jumped 33.4% and 24.9% reaching 4,105 and 230,117 in total visitor numbers respectively.
Of its top three countries, Singapore performed incredibly well, jumping 25.1%, but this was counterbalanced by a similar drop of 25.4% from the Thailand market, Indonesia edged up slightly by 3.3%.
Tourism Malaysia notes that the big drops from Asian source markets were likely “due to the global economic crisis, as well as the effect of Influenza A(H1N1)”.
Resorts World Singapore
Most airlines, in trying to mitigate the impact of fuel price volatility, have resorted to stringent baggage restrictions as part of measures to achieve better fuel efficiency.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), every 1% improvement in fuel efficiency across the aviation industry can lower fuel costs by US$700mil annually. This is unsurprising since fuel cost is the second-largest cost for airlines after labour.
Passengers on AirAsia flights are encouraged to travel light, like using carry-on luggage, to minimise checked-in baggage. They are allowed to have one carry-on luggage of up to 7kg, plus free 15kg allowance for checked-in baggage.
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MAS general manager for corporate safety, security, health and environment, Ooi Teong Siew, said reducing weight was one of the static techniques, which include ensuring aircraft are well trimmed and engines cleaned regularly.
Dynamic techniques, meanwhile, are factors that have an impact on the flight path like direct routings, economical speeds, continuous descents and optimum altitudes.
“These efforts, without compromising on safety and quality, have reduced our fuel burnt rate and enabled us to contribute to cost reduction of RM2.3bil from 2006 to 2008,” Ooi said in an e-mail reply to StarBiz.
AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes noted that for every flight hour, an additional 1,000kg of take-off weight would burn up 90kg fuel.
AirAsia also achieved greater fuel efficiency with its new fleet of A320 planes, as they offered higher unit fuel consumption per flight while high dispatch ability and operational efficiency contributed to lower maintenance expenses, Fernandes said.
“We adhere to a quick turnaround of 25 minutes, which leads to high aircraft utilisation, lower costs as well as greater airline and staff productivity. Fuel consumption-
Such practices kept costs down and ensured minimum aircraft weight, Fernandes said, adding that savings and benefits would translate into low fares for passengers.
Ooi said MAS also minimised the use of auxiliary power unit on ground, ensured faster connection of ground power, chose the best flight profile as well as adopted a continuous descent approach at applicable airports, and regular airframe and engine maintenance.
“Other examples include replacing the heavy unit loading devices with those which are 40kg lighter and using nearer alternate airports.”
MAS is anticipated to achieve greater fuel efficiency when it takes delivery of 35 B738 late next year and the A380 in 2011.
Meanwhile, FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd managing director Eddy Leong said the airline did not practise overzealous efforts in enforcing one hand luggage and checked baggage limits.
“Firefly’s business model was designed to be light from the beginning because we chose a very fuel efficient and modern ATR72-500 aircraft,” he said.
The focus then is on eliminating hassles, enriching the travel experience and optimising costs.
“For example, our full complimentary food and beverage on board includes serving muffins on paper cups and ensuring that we cater exactly to the passenger count. Any extras would be given to passengers. In the end, there is no waste to offload, no wastage to worry about. Our ultimate gain is in the revenue side and loyalty from passengers,” Leong added.
Emirates Airlines, in contrast, increased the free baggage allowance across its network effective May 4, with the exception of countries that apply one-piece concept for checked-in luggage. Economy class travellers are now given 30kg from 20kg previously.
An analyst with a local brokerage said the impact of strict baggage terms was unlikely to have a huge impact on bottomline.
Airlines also tried to carry the correct amount of jetfuel and to power planes by ground power units during waiting periods instead of jetfuel to achieve better fuel efficiency, he said.
IATA, on its website, indicated efforts being taken with air navigation service providers, air traffic controllers, airlines and other key stakeholders to save one minute per flight via better airspace design, procedures and management.
“If successful, this initiative could reduce total industry operating costs by over US$1bil a year and significantly reduce environmental emissions,” the association said, noting that on average, airlines spent US$100 per minute per flight in total operating costs.
THE Malaysian tourism industry has developed and become the second highest contributor for the Malaysian economy.
"Despite the current global recession, last year, Malaysia recorded an increase of 5.1 per cent in tourist arrivals, from 20.97 million tourists in 2007 to 22.05 million in 2008," said Datuk Dr Ong Hong Peng, secretary-general of the Ministry of Tourism at Institut Karisma's convocation yesterday.
"There is an urgent need for more qualified and registered tourist guides. Currently we have a total of 4,837 active tourist guides in Malaysia and only 10.3 per cent are skilled in foreign languages," Ond said.
"The Ministry is strongly encouraging existing tourist guides to enrich themselves through greater command of foreign languages such as Dutch, German, Russian, French and Arabic. We are embarking on providing foreign language courses to address this need and encouraging more people to take up this career, including school-leavers and those unemployed."
MALAYSIA Airlines has been identified as among the top three mainline carriers for 2009 after Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa by Aviation Week's Top-Performing Companies (TPC) study of the global airline industry.
Air Arabia tops the low-cost/niche carrier category while FedEx is the highest-ranked freight carrier and Australia's Regional Express is the top regional carrier, it said.
Aviation Week's TPC study of the global airline industry is the industry's leading annual rankings and competitive analysis.
It said, a follow-up to last month's TPC Aerospace and Defense rankings, this year's airline analysis shows the effects of the recession on the industry -- few airline business models are immune.
City deputy police chief Datuk Abdul Samah Mat, however, said that Kuala Lumpur was safe. He said uniformed policemen as well as undercover personnel were monitoring the situation.
“Several district police chiefs where prestigious hotels are located have met the hotel representatives to advise on additional security measures. We have also increased our patrols at clubbing areas in the city, such as Jalan P. Ramlee, as well as other tourist haunts."
Meanwhile, the New Sunday Times learnt that several major hotels in the Golden Triangle area of the city have taken additional security measures.
“Since the Jakarta bombing incident on July 17, we have taken extra steps to ensure security,” said an industry source. Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur general manager Stephen Cokkinias said there was no cause for concern as Malaysia was a safe country to visit. “The hotel has always taken measures to ensure the safety of their guests and staff .”
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Police stand guard in front of the damaged Ritz-Carlton hotel after an explosion in Jakarta July 17, 2009. (REUTERS/Dadang Tri) |
A car bomb also blew up along a toll road in North Jakarta, police said without giving further details. Indonesia's Metro TV said two people had been killed. An unexploded bomb was also later found at the Marriott, police said.
The apparently coordinated bombings are the first in several years and follow a period in which the government had made progress in tackling security threats from militant Islamic groups, bringing a sense of political stability to Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
Some analysts have already cast suspicion on remnants of the Jemaah Islamiah group, blamed for previous attacks including a car bombing outside the Marriott in 2003 as well as bombings on the resort island of Bali the previous year that killed 202 people.
Here are some questions and answers on security in Indonesia:
IS THIS UNEXPECTED?
Yes. Indonesia had made enormous progress in containing the threat from militant group JI which security officials and analysts said was behind several fatal bomb attacks on Western targets including hotels and bars in Jakarta and the resort island of Bali.
The Indonesian authorities, with help and training from their Australian and U.S. counterparts, have increased security and surveillance in recent years.
Indonesia's security forces have detained hundreds of militants and killed several during shoot-outs, carrying out numerous sweeps, even in recent weeks.
HOW COULD THESE NEW ATTACKS HAPPEN, HAS SECURITY BEEN RELAXED?
There are no outward signs security measures have been relaxed in Jakarta. The security presence was stepped up around the time of the presidential elections on July 8, which passed peacefully.
All the major hotels in Jakarta have security checks outside to reduce the risk of car bombs, although checks in many are not particularly thorough, with a security guard just poking his head in the window to look at who is inside the car.
Although the Marriott and Ritz were known for exceptionally tight security barriers and checks, including for those entering the hotel on foot, from the damage at the scene of the blasts it appears the bombs exploded inside the hotels, and were either brought in by suicide bombers or planted inside and set off by timers.
IS JEMAAH ISLAMIAH BEHIND THIS?
Several analysts are already saying these attacks have some of the hallmarks of JI, which in the past has chosen high-profile targets such as Western hotels and bars frequented by foreigners.
JI has used car bombs in the past, but barricades and layout changes as well as other measures at the best-protected luxury and Western hotels in Jakarta and Bali have made it harder for that kind of attack.
DOES THIS MEAN JI HAS RECOVERED AND IS A THREAT AGAIN?
If it is indeed JI, this suggests they still have bomb-making capability and operatives, despite having lost many of their trained and skilled members.
IF IT ISN'T JI, WHO ELSE COULD IT BE?
In 1998, when former autocratic President Suharto was desperately trying to retain power, some elements within the military were accused of stirring up social unrest and riots in an attempt to cause widespread panic and destabilise Indonesia.
There have been other instances in Indonesia's history when military elements were suspected of being behind unrest in order to have an excuse to clamp down on civilians.
The country has also sporadically seen violence including bombings attributed to various separatist groups, political organisations, and criminal gangs.
WHAT LONG-TERM IMPACT COULD THIS HAVE ON INDONESIA?
It's certainly a blow for Indonesia's security forces and the country's risk profile, particularly coming so close on the heels of peaceful elections in the world's third-largest democracy.
Indonesia had begun to stand out among its Southeast Asian peers as a stable democracy that was making real progress in tackling corruption in order to attract foreign investment.
These attacks could make some investors think twice before committing to any new, long-term, strategic investments in areas such as natural resources or infrastructure.
That said, however, the market reaction has been relatively muted.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said there was a need to be realistic, given the current tough times.
“The World Tourism Organisation has recently announced a reduction of 8% in tourist arrivals globally from January to April this year,” she said at a press conference after launching the KL International Airport Mega Sale Carnival 2009 here yesterday.
Dr Ng launching the Mega Sale Carnival at KLIA Dr Ng said the influenza A (H1N1) had not even come into the picture during that period.
“In Asia and the South Pacific region, the decrease is 6% and this is a major reduction,” she said.
The reduced number of projected tourists was part of the ministry’s plan to achieve the targets it has set out to accomplish, she said.
Dr Ng added that the ministry has also decided to develop the rural tourism economy by promoting home-stay programmes and increasing the number of foreign language-speaking tour guides as part of its key results areas.
People run following a blast at the Marriot Hotel in central Jakarta
olice stand guard in front of the damaged exterior of the Ritz-Carlton hotel after an explosion
Windows at the Ritz-Carlton are blown out after Friday's blast.
Damage to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel can be seen following the blast.
At least six people, including several foreigners, have been killed and 10 injured when explosions ripped through two luxury hotels in downtown Jakarta on Friday, police say.
South Jakarta police Colonel Firman Bundi said some of the bodies had been taken to a hospital.
The facade of the Ritz-Carlton was blown off in one blast and another explosion hit the Marriott, police said. The explosions rocked the area about 8am local time (11am AEST).
The head of the Health Ministry crisis centre, Rustam Pakaya, said at least two people were seriously injured, including one New Zealander.
One hospital emergency room said it was already treating 15 people.
Debris and shattered glass littered the street outside the neighbouring hotels, which are in an upscale Jakarta neighbourhood, and ambulances raced to the scene
Herald on the scene
The Sydney Morning Herald's Indonesia correspondent Tom Allard said one bomb was reportedly detonated inside the Ritz-Carlton.
"I'm looking at it now, you can see all the windows punched out on one side,'' Allard told 2UE radio from outside the back of the hotel.
"[I've been told] the bomb actually went off inside the restaurant at the time people were actually sitting there to have their breakfasts.
He said he could see what appeared to be dead bodies being pulled out of the building and badly injured people being helped out as well.
An Australian man called Jim told 2UE his son was injured in the explosion at the Marriott.
The man said his son phoned him from Jakarta, where he was working, and told him he was on his way to hospital.
His left leg was bleeding and he'd lost hearing in one ear but he told his father he was OK, the man said.
Witness reports
A man jogging by the hotels said he first heard a loud explosion at the Marriott. Five minutes later, a bomb followed at the Ritz.
Alex Asmasubrata said he saw four bodies inside the Marriott. An Associated Press reporter saw three injured people taken away from the Ritz.
Security guard Eko Susanto told AFP: "I heard two sounds like 'boom, boom' coming from the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton. Then I saw people running out."
Witness Intan told TV One one of the explosions wrecked the lobby of the Plaza Mutiara building.
"I was having breakfast on level 16, I heard an explosion and went down to the first floor and it was a mess. I saw foreigners all bloody, about three to five of them, badly wounded," she said
A witness, who gave her name as Mery, told ElShinta: "I saw some people being carried into a Mercedes. There was a lot of them in there, they were having trouble closing the doors."
Dow Jones Newswires reported witnesses who heard three explosions in the Mega Kuningan business precinct.
"I heard at least three explosions and now white smoke is billowing," a fund manager at a foreign securities company told Dow Jones Newswires on the phone.
JI warning
The bombings come a day after an analyst warned that Indonesian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, dormant following an effective police crackdown resulting in the arrest and execution of some members, was on the rise again and set to strike.
The Marriott hotel was attacked in 2003, when 12 died. Jemaah Islamiah was blamed for that blast.
The Department of Foreign Affairs was aware of reports of an explosion and was in contact with the Australian embassy in Jakarta to investigate what happened, a spokeswoman said
Embassy staff were urgenty seeking to identify whether any Australians were injured, the spokeswoman said
Anyone who has concerns for the welfare of family and friends overseas should try to contact them directly first. DFAT's 24-hour consular emergency centre is also available on 02 6261 3305 or 1300 555 135.
It is five years since the Australian embassy in Jakarta was bombed, killing 10 people and wounding 161 in September 2004.
Source : SMH CNN Reuters
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Leading Indonesian news channel, Metro TV, has reported four people have died in two separate explosions in central Jakarta on Friday.
"There were explosions heard from two separate places, one the JW Marriott, the other in the Ritz Carlton. We are still trying to check because right now we are still helping the victims," said South Jakarta Police Chief Firman Santyabudi.
Witnesses at the scene told Metro TV that the injured, including Indonesians and foreigners, were seen being taken away in ambulances.
"Some windows of the Ritz-Carlton building have been shattered, mostly on the lower section. I'm looking at it from my office," said Myra Junor, who works at a nearby building.
A man jogging by the hotels said he first heard a loud explosion at the Marriott. Five minutes later, a bomb followed at the Ritz.
Alex Asmasubrata said he saw four bodies inside the Marriott. An Associated Press reporter saw three injured taken away from the Ritz.
Police, however, would only confirm four people were injured.
Jakarta's five-star JW Marriott hotel has been bombed before, with 12 people killed in a 2003 car-bomb attack.
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has a history of bloody terrorist attacks, including the Bali bombings of 2002 which claimed 202 lives including three New Zealanders and 88 Australians.
Eleven people were killed, including a suicide bomber, in a car bomb attack on Australia’s embassy in Jakarta in 2004.
Sarawak State Urban Develop-ment and Tourism Minister Datuk Michael Manyin said the request for raincoats was from foreign visitors because of the rainy weather which affected the first night of the festival last weekend.
There were also comments that the festival’s new stage was not camera-friendly as it was too high, making it difficult for photographers to take pictures.
He said a journalist from the Middle East would like the organisers to invite more Arab groups to the festival.
“We will take note of the comments to make the festival better,” Manyin told reporters after launching a civil service logo and development exhibition at the Civic Centre here yesterday.
“On the whole, most of the visitors said that our festival was second to none,” he said.
The organisers would work to further improve the event next year based on the feedback.
Manyin also said that this year’s festival at the Sarawak Cultural Village had attracted more than 21,000 visitors despite the global economic downturn and the A (H1N1) flu outbreak.
“We had been worried earlier that people may cancel their bookings and whether we would be able to get at least 15,000 visitors,” he said.
Attendance on the first night was about 5,000 while the second night had a crowd of 8,500.
More than 8,000 people turned up for the final night.
ANY hotel guest would appreciate a nice warm bed with luxurious sheets after a long day of shopping and sight seeing.
Keeping this in mind, Westin Hotel Kuala Lumpur introduced its Heavenly Bed series and invited members of the media for a try-out session.
The Starwoods Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts director of brand management Asia Pacific for Sheraton and Westin, Vincent Ong walked us through the history of the famed bed.
The Heavenly Bed was born after a research that revealed that most hotel guests preferred a good night’s sleep above every other comfort.
For a good night’s sleep: Ong on the Heavenly Bed. After months of research, the bed was introduced to the public through a campaign on Wall Street in 1999.
“The bed is made up of 10 layers and it is all in white. White represents cleanliness and purity,” added Ong.
Ong said that over 75 million people including celebrities and politicians have tried out the Heavenly Bed experience.
Westin had extended their Heavenly products to include, bath products, shower heads, towels, pillows, Heavenly Dog beds and much more.
During the press meet, Westin also invited Thevi Sinnadurai from the London College of Clinical Hypnosis to talk about sleep and relaxation.
According to Thevi, sleep is a form of altered conscious state of relaxation.
Sleep expert: Thevi spoke on sleep and relaxation. “During hypnosis, all good feelings, wills and desires are amplified to bring out the best form of relaxation,” she said.
According to her, relaxation and good sleep is a habit that can be cultivated within 21 days.
A 20 to 45-minute session is all that is needed to teach a person to relax.
Throughout this month, Westin Hotel guests can experience the art of hypnosis on Thursdays from 6.20pm to 7.30pm.
There are several other offers in conjunction with the hotel’s 10th Heavenly Celebration such as a rebate of RM500 for hotel guests who would like to buy the Heavenly Bed.
For newlyweds who hold their wedding reception at the Westin Hotel from now till Dec 31, 2009, they are entitled to a 30% discount for a purchase of the full set of the Heavenly Bed.
For details on the Heavenly offers, call the Catering and Conventions team at 0327738023 or 0327738663 or log on to westin.com/kualalumpur.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz announced the new fares on Thursday.
The fares are expected to come into affect next month, but no date has been specified.
Penang Port Commission (PPC) chairman Tan Cheng Liang said the project was approved by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) council meeting recently.
She said the PPC, which mooted the idea, had identified 10 proposed coastal points for the service.
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She said the sites on the mainland are Butterworth, Bagan Ajam, Pulau Aman and Nibong Tebal, and Weld Quay, Tanjung Bunga, Teluk Bahang, Tanjung Tokong, Pantai Jerejak and Batu Maung on the island.
Tan said the water taxis will greatly help to reduce travelling time between various places in the state.
“For example, it will take more than two hours for the public to travel from Bagan Ajam in Butterworth to Batu Ferringhi on Penang island as they will have to take a ferry and then a bus.
“But with the water taxis, it will only take them about 30 minutes,” she said at a press conference here yesterday.
Tan said the service would be useful for those staying in Seberang Prai but working in Bayan Lepas factories or Batu Ferringhi hotels.
“It will also ease traffic congestion on the island and be an alternative mode of transport when there are traffic snarls on Penang Bridge.
“The service will provide new job opportunities and spur the tourism industry,” she said.
Tan said the service would be implemented by the Northern Corridor Implementation Agency (NCIA) under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
“The Federal Government has allocated RM50mil for the state water transportation services,” she said.
She said a consultant would be engaged to carry out a study on the project feasibility, the popularity of the routes and geographical impact.
“The consultant will take about three to four months to conduct the study,” she added.
NCIA senior vice-president Christopher Tan Chie Kiong said the final cost of the project could not be determined prior to the study.
“NCIA is expected to appoint a consultant by next month to commission the study but while waiting for it to be completed, we want to identify opportunities for pilot services with the existing infrastructure,” he said.
After the KL-Delhi route, the KL-Chennai route is said to be the busiest for point to point travel from KL to India. Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the fifth largest city in India and capital of Tamil Nadu state.
“The KL to India routes are high traffic routes as the countries have strong business, education, cultural and religious ties,’’ Malaysia Airlines (MAS) senior general manager sales and marketing Datuk Bernard Francis said in an e-mail reply to StarBiz queries.
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MAS, Jet Airways, Indian Airlines and Air-India Express offer direct services. Flights originating from KL to Chennai via Singapore (Singapore Airlines and Tiger Airways), Bangkok (Thai Airways) and Colombo (Sri Lankan Airlines) are also popular. Most of the carriers offer daily flights to Chennai, an almost four-hour journey direct from KL. 
Jet Airways regional general manager for Malaysia and Thailand Kavin Martinus said fares on the KL-Chennai route had dropped by 20% to 30% over the past two months.
“Fares on this sector can fluctuate depending on season and demand but even in a competitive environment, the carriers that ply direct enjoy an average passenger load factor of 65% to 70%,’’ he said from Bangkok.
MAS’ Francis said for the national carrier, the “load factors are high and hitting above 85%.’’
These days, one can get a return all-inclusive economy-class airfare for just over RM800 online provided you book early. But the cheapest fare thus far is from Sri Lankan Airlines at RM788 for an all-inclusive return airfare if you book direct with the airline. This fare is available till Aug 30.
Sri Lankan Airlines flies via Colombo which means you spend three hours waiting for your connection to Chennai. But if you travel on Sunday, you have to spend a night in Colombo at your own cost. However, from a traveller’s perspective, it is visiting two destinations for the price of one as you have about 16 hours before your connection to Chennai. You arrive after 3pm in Colombo on Sunday and leave for Chennai only at 7.25am on Monday.
A random check on online fares for a one-week trip from Aug 15 to 22 shows that Tiger Airways offers the best deal at an all-inclusive fare of RM807, followed by MAS at RM828. SIA’s return all-inclusive airfare for the KL-Singapore-
Travel agents have their own fares and those obtained from World Discovery Travel Sdn Bhd via its representative Kumari Mannathu show that Jet Airways’ RM988 all-inclusive return airfare is the lowest for the dates specified.
Fares may be competitive now but would they go down further?
“It depends on market conditions. Our (MAS) aim is to ensure that our fares remain competitive,’’ Francis said.
India’s Kingfisher Airlines was to start plying this route last year but up to now, the airline has yet to get into the act. However, it is learnt that it would begin plying the Colombo-Bangkok route next month. Hopefully, after Bangkok, it will consider the Chennai-KL connection to spice up the competition.
'Singapore has always been our major market, and that is due to the easy accessibility of Malaysia,' Tourism Malaysia chairman Victor Wee told The Straits Times. 'But the recent competitive airfares, which are very hard to resist, are definitely one of the factors encouraging Singaporeans to visit Malaysia.'
Flights between Singapore and Malaysia were previously monopolised by Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines.
There are currently seven airlines with direct flights to seven cities, including Kuching and Kota Kinabalu in east Malaysia. Other cities served by flights from Singapore are Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, Langkawi and Kuala Terengganu.
Firefly, which added an Ipoh-Singapore route to its existing KL flight on Sunday, will also start servicing Alor Star in Kedah and Kota Baru in Kelantan from Oct 25. Budget airline AirAsia also said on Monday it would start two new routes, servicing Tawau in Sabah and Miri in Sarawak, starting on Sept 6.
Singaporean Matthew Goh, 35, who travels to Malaysia at least two to three times a year for short weekend getaways, is among those looking forward to a greater choice of destinations. 'I will definitely be going to the more 'out of the way' places since there are now flights to places like Terengganu and Kelantan,' he said.
But analyst Lee Heng Guie of CIMB, Malaysia's second largest financial services provider, believes there is a more complex range of factors behind the increase in visitor arrivals from Singapore than simply cheaper fares and greater choice.
'It could be the global downturn, so people tend to travel within the region instead of long haul,' he said. 'It could also have been triggered by Thailand's political instability when Bangkok closed its airport last year. Now, with the A(H1N1) flu, people likely prefer to travel to less-affected countries.'
State governments are also supporting the services, as more visitors means bigger revenues.
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Fascinating: Mohd Ali (middle) looking at some of the equipment at the planetarium during his visit recently |
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the Malacca Planetarium is scheduled to open tomorrow.
He said the planetarium was equipped with the latest astronomy technology provided by Pico International (M) Sdn Bhd, costing RM2.4mil.
Besides attracting those keen to learn more about the beauty and secrets of the universe, the planetarium would also enable researchers from various institutions of higher learning to conduct experiments, he added.
He said the state was considering imposing an entrance fee of RM10 for adults, with a discount for children and students.
The planetarium is built on the site of the 4ha roundabout located at the MITC in Ayer Keroh.
It houses a 15m internal dome and also a theatre with a capacity for 250 people.
Currently, there are three other planetariums in the country, namely the National Planetarium in Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, the Terengganu Planetarium located at the foothill of Bukit Besar and the RM20mil Al-Khawarizmi Astronomy Complex in Tanjung Bidara, Malacca.
MORE cruise ships, including the famed Queen Mary II which can carry up to 6,500 passengers, will be docking in Penang next year.
State Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang said the prestigious cruise ship will call at the port early next year.
“Currently, we have about 35 different international cruise ships visiting Penang and one of the regular ones is the Star Cruise, which makes port call on a weekly basis.
“Next year, 40 different cruise ships will stop in Penang,” he told a press conference after welcoming passengers from the Sun Princess liner at Tanjung City Marina last Thursday.
Lawrence Pakianathan, Intercruises Shore Side and Port Services operational business development manager for Malay-sia, Brunei and Indonesia, said each of these cruises carry an average of 2,000 passengers.
“It’ll be a great boost to the state’s tourism industry,” he said adding that Swettenham Pier would be able to accommodate two ships once work on the pier’s expansion is completed.
Siblings Hayley, 25, and Jarred Stephen, 24, from Sydney, who were on their first visit to Penang, said they planned to go on George Town’s heritage trail.
“The warm weather here is so com- fortable as it’s winter back home,” Jarred said.
They were among 2,100 passengers of the Sun Princess who were here for a half-day stop before leaving for Phuket. The other port calls in the cruise’s 15-day tour include Langkawi, Port Klang and Singapore before returning to Australia
The cruise ship last visited Penang on June 18 and will return again next month.
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June recorded between 15% and 46% decreases from major markets such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.
Fun Malaysia: Dr Ng (seated right) having a light moment while visiting tourists and traders at Petaling Street yesterday. She said these were very grave figures but not exclusive to Malaysia as it was a worldwide phenomenon.
Dr Ng said the present allocation to promote Malaysia internationally was not enough to bring tourist arrivals back to January-April 2008 numbers, which was 8% higher than this year’s.
She had written to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to increase the present budget allocation of RM245mil.
“I have written to the Prime Minister for additional funding with details on where we intend to focus on,” Dr Ng told reporters after meeting 44 Tourism Malaysia overseas directors and desk officers yesterday.
Without revealing the amount requested, Dr Ng said the present budget was not boosted by the latest stimulus package unveiled in March, which only allocated for minor infrastructure development for public amenities.
Dr Ng added that during the meeting, Health Ministry officers gave a full briefing on the status of the influenza A (H1N1) outbreak, to give desk officers a clearer picture of the situation here as many foreign tourists were worried about coming to Malaysia.
“The bottom line is that there is no quarantine; Malaysia is safe.
“If you have a cough or flu without complications, you are not compelled to go to the hospital,” she said.
Tourism Malaysia state director Mohd Roslan Abdullah said Sabah had recorded an annual growth in tourist arrivals from China, from 61,567 tourists in 2006 to 77,475 tourist arrivals in 2007 and 87,175 last year.
“This shows that there is a healthy growth in terms of tourist arrivals from China.
“With Shenzhen Airlines making its way to Sabah, we hope for more tourists from China,” he said at a dinner after Shenzhen Airlines’ inaugural flight to Sabah.
The airline launched the new route on Friday with the inaugural flight leaving Shenzhen at 11.50pm with 163 passengers, including invited guests and members of the media. It arrived here at 2.30am today. A group of Sabah media members flew out to Shenzhen at 4.30am as part of its familiarisation programme.
Shenzhen Airlines sales department general manager Liu Zhen said it would fly to Kota Kinabalu twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays with a capacity of 164 seats, and although it was currently operating only chartered flights, the airline hoped to operate scheduled flights soon.
“Passengers from Malaysia, especially from Sabah, will fly to other cities in China via Shenzhen and those from China will go to Sabah through Shenzhen,” he said, adding that Shenzhen also connected 24 other cities in China.
He added that they had introduced flights to Bangkok, Thailand in April and would start flying to Phnom Penh, Cambodia in September. Sabah is the second international destination introduced so far.
Shenzhen Airlines is already flying to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
At present, Malaysia’s low-cost carrier AirAsia is also servicing the Shenzhen-Kota Kinabalu route.
Liu said plans were in the pipeline to introduce four new routes to Japan and other cities in South- East Asia.
Shenzhen Airlines is a Shenzhen-based airline founded in November 1992 and started service in September 1993 as an airline specialised in passengers, cargo and mail transportation.
They were garlanded and given state tourism goodie bags.
Hamidah later launched the flight from Ipoh to Singapore with 71 passengers, including 21 Perak media representatives, which took off at 5.20pm. The delegation was led by state Health, Local Government, Consumer Affairs, Environment, Public Transport and Non-Islamic Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Mah Hang Soon.
In her speech, Hamidah said the air link was expected to "open up opportunities in the tourism and industrial sectors which would eventually contribute to the growth of the economy of the state".
Firefly operates four flights a week to Singapore.
The airport was previously used by Riau Airlines for its Medan-Ipoh service, with the last flight in March.
It is currently used by a flying academy for training purposes.
AirAsia operated the Ipoh-Senai route for nine months before it suspended the service in September 2006.
Firefly managing director Eddy Leong, who was present at the event, said the airline might increase the frequencies if there were demand for it.
The airline was also talking to travel agents to reopen the Ipoh-Medan routes.
PASSENGERS on Firefly landing at the Subang SkyPark will soon be able to enjoy shuttle bus services into the city and Sepang.
FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd managing director Eddy Leong said following the positive response received from the community airline's bus collaboration with Rapid Penang since May, Firefly is looking at more value-for-money options for its passengers.
"We are in active arrangement with Subang Skypark to introduce shuttle bus services to KL Sentral and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport," he told Business Times.
Leong said Firefly's collaboration with Rapid Penang is based on cross-marketing.
"Passengers buying our tickets are informed on their booking itinerary that they are entitled to this special service and we also make announcements on board. This is especially good for Indonesian passengers who need not worry about 'negotiating' bus or taxi charges when they land in Penang," he added.
The Rapid shuttle bus service takes passengers to Weld Quay in George Town from the airport.
From its hubs in Subang and Penang, Firefly offers flights within Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
Firefly is also considering developing a loyalty programme to reward its individual and corporate customers. "This is still at a very early stage and the idea is to offer something that is drastically different from other airlines."
THE Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur did its part in making the world a greener place by organising a gotong-royong at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Park recently.
A total of 65 employees spent a Monday morning working together to clean up the park.
It was not the first time that the hotel was carrying out an environmentally-friendly activity as it had previously held a tree-planting campaign in Universiti Malaya.
Resident manager Richard Johnson said they believed that they could make a difference in the community.
He said environmental awareness was not always something conducted outdoors and that the offices at the hotel were also going green.
Enjoying the outdoors: The staff of Mandarin Oriental Hotel tending to the plants at the KLCC Park. A participant, Nicole Andres, said activities like this were good for fostering teamwork among colleagues.
“It’s not every day that we step out of the office and do something that really revives teamwork.
“It is nice that we are encouraged to be environment- friendly,” she said.
MBS has delayed its soft launch to early 2010 from the original deadline of end-2009 due to a shortage of labour and materials, according to media reports.
HwangDBS Vickers Research, in its latest report, said with RWS on track for a targeted soft launch in January 2010 to catch the Chinese New Year (CNY) peak season, it was possible that RWS would open first.
This is despite RWS having started later, as it was awarded the project in December 2006 while MBS received its approval in May the same year, it noted.
Kenanga Research said in a company update report that RWS was likely to gear up construction works in order to open before MBS.
The research house said that as at March 31, RWS had already awarded about S$4.67bil worth of works out of the S$6.59bil project cost.
“Installation of various fun equipment in Universal Studios has begun while testing and commissioning is scheduled to begin in October,” it noted.
Analysts expect RWS to gain from “first-mover” advantage should it open its integrated resort ahead of MBS, noting that Singapore residents are required by the government to pay an entrance fee of S$100 per day or S$2,000 per year to the casino.
The annual pass is exclusive to one casino only, so the first integrated resort to open will have the advantage of locking in Singaporean patrons early, according to HwangDBS Vickers Research.
An analyst with a foreign brokerage said RWS was very likely to open in early first quarter next year and lock in more local and foreign casino patrons, especially those from China, during the Chinese New Year festive season.
“Whoever opens first will get the first batch of patrons to sign up to be its customer for one year, as seasoned punters will likely sign up for the annual passes,” he told StarBiz.
“Normally, people will get excited with something new but after a while, they will go for what they really want,” he added.
RWS is ready for the opening in the first quarter next year as everything, including construction, is on track while funding for the project is intact, according to the analyst.
“RWS would submit its application for casino licence in this quarter (third quarter).
“Probably it can get the approval before the fourth quarter this year if everything goes smoothly,” he continued.
Another analyst, who declined to be named, agreed that RWS would get first-mover advantage if it opened first, but it would be just an initial gain.
She said RWS had a different target market from MBS, noting that “RWS would attract more family persons with its theme park facilities.”
Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd is the developer of a 49ha integrated resort on Singapore’s Sentosa island.
The company will own and operate all key attractions at the resort, which houses six hotels, a casino, Universal Studios Singapore, The Marine Life Park, the Maritime Experiential Museum and the Equarius Water Park.
Resorts World at Sentosa is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Genting Singapore, a leisure and gaming company listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange.
Genting Bhd owns a direct stake of 54.4% in Genting Singapore.
AirAsia Bhd expects its newly launched low-cost courier service, Redbox, to contribute RM25mil to RM30mil to revenue next year, said group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.
“We don’t expect a major contribution from Redbox for the first six months but it’s a massive market. Air travel is a small pie but now we’ve expanded it by offering more services such as Redbox,” he said after the launching ceremony yesterday.
He added that AirAsia’s branching out into a non-core business was part of its strategy to improve its ancillary income.
Fernandes said Redbox was targeted at the small and medium enterprises and individual customers, and offered about 50% lower shipment rates than the market.
From left: Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, Azran Osman-Rani, MBE Business Corp Sdn Bhd director Brian Chow and DMSBT Pte Ltd managing director and chief executive officer Damien Santer at the launch of Redbox. Redbox is said to be the world’s first low-cost courier service. AirAsia will be transporting the packages from airport to airport while its partner DHL would be picking up and delivering them.
The low-cost carrier has also partnered Mail Boxes Etc (MBE) to enable customers to drop off their packages at any of 17 MBE outlets.
Redbox is the first courier service to use Google Maps for courier service tracking.
AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani said the tie-up with DHL and MBE was just a pure business partnership and there was no equity involved.
“Redbox’s low-cost model is possible as it leverages on AirAsia’s extensive network and infrastructure,” he said, adding that the transaction costs would also be lower as most of the transactions would be done online.
“Our tie-up with DHL and MBE also allows us to use their infrastructure,” Fernandes said.
He added that the investment for Redbox was “very little”.
On the belly capacity allocated for the new service, Fernandes joked: “My belly or the plane’s belly? AirAsia still has lots of belly capacity for these services.”
He said about 11% of AirAsia’s total aircraft belly space had been allocated for cargo.
For a start, Redbox offers services between the central region of Peninsular Malaysia and some towns in Sabah and Sarawak.
Azran said Redbox would expand to all the other destinations that AirAsia and AirAsia X fly to early next year.
On recent reports that AirAsia and AirAsia X would merge in a year or two, Fernandes and Azran said it was not for them to decide and they would leave it to the board.
“I’ve got no control over the merger. It’s up to the shareholders and we don’t have a specific plan for the merger.
“However, the operational advantages will be quite significant if we merge both companies as there is a lot of operational synergy,” Azran said.
He said AirAsia X was “optimistic of tripling its revenue” this year as it had more planes and would be flying to more destinations.
Azran said AirAsia X planned to introduce new routes in the Middle East this year and was looking at Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, Fernandes said AirAsia’s private placement plan was “progressing very well” but did not elaborate.
Tourism Malaysia chairman Datuk Dr Victor Wee said the ministry had set a target of 450,000 tourists from Japan this year - a 20,000 increase from the 430,000 Japanese tourists who came last year.
“Based on our record last year, we are optimistic that we would be able to achieve the targeted figure, especially when Penang and Malacca have both been listed as Unesco World Heritage Sites on July 7 last year,” he told reporters after opening the Quality Service Training Workshop: Focus on Japanese Tourists held at Hotel Equatorial recently.
Some 20 frontliners, comprising tour drivers, operators and representatives from the hotels and restaurants, participated in the three-day workshop.
Wee said the ministry would focus on three special groups from the Japanese market - the senior citizens, professionals and youngsters.
“They are interested in knowing more about Malaysia and experience the various culture and tourist spots we have to offer,” he said.
Wee added it was important to keep attracting tourists to visit Malaysia by improving on the quality of service.
On another matter, he said the Tourism Ministry was actively promoting domestic tourism through various programmes such the Mega Sale and Cuti-Cuti Malaysia campaigns.
Also present during the official ceremony were state Industry, Trader, Entrepreneur & Cooperative Development Committee chairman Datuk Md Yunos Husin and Asean Japan Centre acting director, Fuchigami Joukei.
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| File pic of AirAsia aircraft at Kuala Lumpur International Airport's low cost carrier terminal in Sepang. Malaysian budget carrier is to park 10 planes in Penang and make Penang its 8th hub. - APpic |
Regional head of commercial Kathleen Tan said the budget airline operator had plans to park 10 planes in Penang, which was in line with its goal of making the island its eighth hub.
AirAsia has hubs in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Kota Kinabalu, Bandung, Bali, Jakarta and Bangkok; and a “virtual hub” in Singapore.
“This is our long-term plan to enhance the attraction of Penang as a hub. Presently the cost of operation in Penang is very high. If Penang had a low-cost carrier terminal, it would reduce our operation cost, and attract more travellers to fly from Penang,” she said in a telephone interview from Kuala Lumpur.
Tan said presently the Penang airport imposed higher international and domestic taxes, at RM51 and RM9 compared with RM25 and RM6 respectively charged at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in Kuala Lumpur.
She said from July 31, AirAsia would station one plane in Penang for the four weekly flights to Hong Kong. The round trip fare is about RM200.
“We are engaging a support team comprising pilots, engineers and technicians to be based at the Penang airport,” she said, adding that AirAsia was also adding a second flight to Singapore from Penang starting July 31.
The national carrier’s commercial director Datuk Rashid Khan said the last flight to New York from Kuala Lumpur will be on Sept 30 while the last flight from New York will be on Oct 1 and on Oct 2 from Stockholm.
“We have decided to suspend the services as demand has dropped due to the global economic crisis,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Rashid said the airline was was making arrangements to notify all affected customers.
He said customers who had tickets issued before Tuesday for flights from Kuala Lumpur to New York/Stockholm and vice versa and Stockholm to New York or vice versa will be eligible for refunds without additional fees.
“We can also make arrangements for them to fly with our partner airlines should they wish to continue with their journey,” he said.
He said the airline’s thrice-weekly Kuala Lumpur-Taipei-
It will also maintain an office in New York and continue to offer services to the Big Apple via its partner airlines.
Customers could also connect to Stockholm via Amsterdam with MAS’ code share partner KLM.
Rashid advised customers who had purchased their tickets via MAS offices, call centres and website to contact MAS’ call centre at 1-300-88-3300 for Malaysia, 1-800-552-9264 in Los Angeles and 08-50530050 in Sweden.
WITH the airline crew donning nothing at all, this is one in-flight safety video you are likely to give your fullest attention to. http://www.youtube.
In an aptly-titled "Bare Essentials of Safety" clip, Air New Zealand staff take pre-flight passengers through the flying do's, don'ts and emergency procedures - wearing nothing but body paint.
This is not the first time staff have 'bared all' - about two months ago a video advertisement "Nothing to Hide" was released to promote the airline's "what you see is what you pay" policy on air fares.
The new safety video, three-minutes and 28-seconds long, made its debut on Monday's 7am flight from Auckland to Wellington, the New York Times reported.
Filmed on June 10 for the airline's 737-300 planes, the video can also be seen on the company's website nothingtohide.
As sensational as it may all sound, there's nothing risqué inside this 'bare all' video.
Sensitive body parts are cleverly covered up, either by 'props' like a lifejacket or careful placement outside of the camera's view.
Even in the closing scene - when a stewardess walks away from the camera, revealing her bare back and behind, the sequence is placed out-of-focus, with the company's logo appearing in the foreground.
The tone is light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek, but no less informative.
"Even if you fly with us quite a lot, we'd appreciate if you take... a second look," says flight attendant Michaela in the video's preliminary introductions.
For those who want to glimpse another level of nakedness of the airline staff, there's also a bloopers clip on the site, taken during the filming. http://www.youtube.
The afternoon crowd checking out domestic tour deals at the Malaysian Domestic Tourism Fair 2009 at the Putra World Trade Centre yesterday. — NST picture by Osman Adnan |
AirAsia Bhd, the low cost carrier which services an extensive network with 122 routes covering more than 65 destinations, is seeking to serve more major and small cities in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
THE Tourism Ministry expects the upcoming Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival (MMSC) 2009 to do better than last year's event despite fears of the Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak and a gloomy economic environment.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said this is based on the rising number of tourist arrivals and the rise in spending especially on shopping.
"For the first four months of this year, tourist arrivals stood at 7.34 million, an increase of 3.4 per cent compared with 7.1 million in 2008," she said, without giving any sales target for MMSC this year.
Ng said although the virus outbreak has raised concerns among foreign tourists travelling into the country, the numbers are not alarming.
EVERY time I go abroad, I take a keen interest in the tourist potential of the country I am visiting, and when I return home, it reinforces my belief that Tourism Malaysia is not doing justice to promote Malaysia as a cost-competitive and value-for-money holiday destination. There are so many things we can highlight to tourists with a media blitz, but fail to do so.
Malaysia offers among the cheapest hotel rates in the region, and even perhaps the world, but little publicity is given to this strong pull-factor. In comparison to countries in the region and in Asia, where the five-star hotel rates are between US$250 and US$300 (RM880-RM1,060) a day, the daily room rates for five-star hotels in Malaysia average around US$130-US$150 (RM459-RM530)
Many of these countries also discriminate between locals and foreigners.
Even meals at ordinary restaurants are much cheaper in Malaysia than in many countries.
Recently, I was on holiday in a neighbouring country and went to a restaurant with a friend for a meal which cost RM69. The same meal in a restaurant in Bangsar, which is considered to be an expensive area in Kuala Lumpur, would cost only around RM25.
The warmth and hospitality advertised by that country was a charade. In a country which prides itself on its smiling people, I was greeted with a stern look by the customs and immigration officers. At least our men and women in uniform at airports offer a smile.
During my visit to one tourist attraction, a sign showed that foreigners had to pay RM35 as entrance fee, while it was free for the locals. In Malaysia, we don’t treat our guests in such a manner.
English should be a selling point for our tourism promotion. Most people in Malaysia, even those who cannot communicate well, can at least understand the rudiments of the language. In many developed and developing countries, where English is not the national language, the majority of the population can hardly communicate with English-speaking tourists.
Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah have so many hidden treasures yet to be discovered. As a Malaysian, I too, have not visited many of these treasures.
The media can assume an important role in promoting domestic promotion, especially during school holidays. Tourism Malaysia should work together with the media to promote these tourist destinations.
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen recently stated that there are around 12,000 foreigners residing in Malaysia under the Malaysia: My Second Home Programme. With the cost of living escalating in many European countries, Japan and the US, many of the nationals, especially retirees, from these countries would like to find an alternative place to reside in comfort. Malaysia would be the answer to their dilemma.
Tourism Malaysia must get cracking.
NATIONAL carrier Malaysia Airlines was named Airline of the Year for third consecutive year at the Annual KLIA Award in Sepang last night.
AirAsia won the Low-cost Airline of the Year Award, while AirAsia Indonesia was given Foreign Airline of the Year Award.
For cargo category, MasKargo won Airline of the Year Award and Korean Air received Foreign Airline of the Year Award.
KLIA Awards, organised by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, offers recognition to 15 different categories of airline and service providers operating in KLIA.
The winners received the award either based on passenger movement, strong growth, good sales performance, international recognition as well as service performance - all based on 2008 performance.
The Arab City will boast 240 lots offering products from the Arab world, including 10 restaurants specialising in authentic Middle Eastern cuisines and a museum with genuine Egyptian artifacts.
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On site: Saleh Al Mansour (in white robe) being briefed on the project by Golden Corporate Heritage’s managing director Hesham Fathi (left). Looking on are the company’s finance director Majed Taufik Rahman Zaho (second from right) and marketing and public relations director Ammar Helal. (right) |
The Arabian extragavanza is expected to be completed in March next year.
“The Arab City will become a showcase of Arab culture for locals while offering Middle Eastern tourists a taste of home when visiting the country,” project developer Golden Corporate Heritages president Saleh Al Mansour said.
He added there was also intention to blend Arab and Malaysian culture as it was done here 600 years ago during the Malacca Sultanate Empire.
Saleh said many Arab tourists coming here wanted to see more of the country and not merely shop in Kuala Lumpur.
“When Arab tourists are in Kuala Lumpur, they get a big let down when they visit the Arab Street.
“It does not reflect our culture and they feel insulted at the representation. That is why we decided to develop the Arab City project here to promote authentic Arab culture,” he told reporters when met at the project site here on Sunday. Construction work was set to start next month with the recruitment for workers beginning in August.
Some 800 to 850 workers, representing 75% of our workforce, will be locals. The remaining will be Arab and Middle Eastern professionals brought in from 20 countries to train and supervise the workers,” he said.
Covering 1.8ha of seafront land, the Arab City represents the first of three projects worth RM1.2bil to be undertaken by Arab investors in Malacca over the next several years.
The other Golden Corporate Heritages projects in the pipeline here are a five-star hotel; exclusive chalets and private medical centre on 13.75ha of seafront land in Klebang and the Arab traders bazaar in Kampung Jawa.
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