Teens Having Cosmetic Surgery to Feel Young Again in Malaysia

Australian teens are rushing to other countries for cosmetic surgery in an attempt to "reclaim" their youth, Australia's Herald Sun reports.

One 18-year-old single mother, Ambah Young, plans to head to Malaysia to have a tummy tuck, breast augmentation and a "designer" vagina procedure, according to the Herald Sun.

While the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery questions the appropriateness of cosmetic procedures on young women, noting that surgeries conducted overseas can be risky, Young says she has felt old ever since she had her baby and would like the surgery to regain confidence.

"I'm having this surgery so that I can feel my age again," she told the newspaper.

Approximately 400 Australians travel to Malaysia each year through Gorgeous Getaways, a group that books "cosmetic surgery holidays," and 80 percent of these individuals undergo two or more procedures, according to the report.

Louise Cogan, director of Melbourne-based Gorgeous Getaways, said she knows several 18-year-olds who have traveled to Malaysia for cosmetic surgery, but most of the clients are in their 30s to 60s. She also told the Herald Sun that Young was a strong candidate for the procedures, because diet and exercise weren't improving her saggy skin.

Overseas cosmetic procedures cost about half of the Australian price, Cogan explains, including flights and other accommodations. Young's surgeries will cost a total of about $13,000 or about $10,800 U.S. dollars.

Psychiatrist David Castle, of Melbourne University, suggested that young people be assessed for psychological problems before undergoing major cosmetic surgery.

"Sometimes they believe their psychological distress will be cured by some cosmetic procedure, and it never is, it usually makes things worse," he told the newspaper.

More on Cosmetic Surgery:



Source : AOL

[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Record 32 Malaysian Exhibitors For AIME In Melbourne

A record 32 exhibitors from Malaysia will take part in the 18th Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) here on March 2 and 3.

They will be among more than 850 exhibitors from 50 countries who will showcase the best in destinations, products and services.

"Malaysia is sending a very strong group this year because of the importance of AIME," said Mohd Hafiz Hashim, Tourism Malaysia's new Melbourne director.

"AIME is going from strength to strength, and to tap into its vast potential, Tourism Malaysia has established MyCEB - Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau - with Zulkefli Sharif as its chief operations officer," Hafiz said.

AIME 2009 broke records with exhibitor numbers climbing to 854, a 3.8 per cent increase on the previous year, and visitor numbers grew by 15 per cent to 3,114 people attending the two-day event at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

There also was an impressive 467 hosted buyers who turned up last year to establish business contacts.

Hafiz said conventions would be a top priority this year because of the strong Aussie dollar.

The Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak and Melaka convention centres, led by Angeline Lue, Mohd Ariff Shah Abdullah Sani and Chew Chang Guan, respectively, are sending strong teams to AIME, offering to host international groups and organisations.

Hafiz said incentives would also play a big part in wooing convention and seminar delegates to Malaysia.

"Malaysia has first-class facilities and our hotels, tour operators and tourist attractions will be big plus for us," he said.


Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Strong Aussie dollar boosts tourism to Malaysia

The strong Australian dollar and Malaysia's ranking as a top tourist destination has resulted in a 33 percent increase, to a record 427,076, in Aussie departures to Malaysia last year.

The increase by more than 100,000 visitors from the previous year is also attributed to Australians' preference for short-haul destinations especially Malaysia and other Asean holiday spots compared with the more expensive ones in Europe and the United States.

Up to September this year, Australian arrivals in Kuala Lumpur registered an increase of 20.6 percent to 371,488 as compared with the same period last year.

Tourism Malaysia Sydney director Shahrin Mokhtar said the change was due to Australians preferring affordable places closer to home as against expensive long-haul travel destinations in the west.

"We expect to see even more Australians visiting this year because of the strong Australian dollar (A$1= RM3), which is fantastic value for a holiday in Malaysia," he said.

"It's even cheaper than the high-cost holiday within Australia. In addition, Australians feel the 'destination fatigue' towards local holiday venues that do not offer the cultural and physically exotic nature as Malaysia's," he said.

Australia, Shahrin said, was among the top 10 tourist-generating markets for Malaysia because it ranked high among Australians as a "must-visit" destination.

This was as a result of Tourism Malaysia's efforts to promote Malaysia as a preferred destination among Australians and New Zealanders, and this was visible through various marketing campaigns and regional road shows (with the theme "Fun & Affordable") held in various parts of Australia.

Meanwhile, New Zealander arrivals in Malaysia has also recorded a double-digit growth of 35.6 percent to 56,117 in 2008. This year (JanuarySeptember) figures posted showed an increase of 13.5 percent to 45,362.

The Australian outbound tourism market has not suffered as much as predicted during the global financial crisis, not nearly as much as it did after the New York World Trade Centre 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARs) and Asian bird flu outbreaks.

Compared with the other Asean destinations, Malaysia is a fairly strong draw card for Australians and New Zealanders, attributed to a large extent to its positioning as an interesting alternative to the more predictable locations such as Bali (Indonesia), Thailand and Fiji, Shahrin said.



Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Tiger Airways Takes Off Empty Leaving Passengers Behind

Intending passengers were left angry after a Tiger Airways plane flew to Melbourne from Hobart without them after a flight attendant fell ill, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported.


The 140 passengers were left at Hobart airport last Friday night and many were stranded for three days while waiting for seats on the one-flight-a-day Tiger service to Melbourne.

The flight attendant at the centre of the incident was attended to by paramedics at the airport and later joined the empty flight back to Melbourne with other crew.

A Tiger spokeswoman told AAP that under air safety regulations planes must have a certain number of cabin crew before they could fly with passengers.

No replacement for the sick steward on Flight TT567 was available in Hobart.

The plane left Hobart for Melbourne without passengers because it had to service other routes the next day from 6am, the spokeswoman said.

Passengers who missed connecting interstate flights included an intending best man at a wedding and a man who had planned to welcome his daughter-in-law home from overseas.



Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Australia Langkawi's New Tourism Target

Australia is the Langkawi Development Authority's (Lada) next target to attract foreign tourists, after its success in Singapore, India and Germany.

Pishol Ishak, Kedah branch chairman of the Malaysian Association of Tour and travel Agents (Matta), said that towards this end, the branch and Lada, in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines (MAS), would hold a roadshow in Australia in October to promote the resort island.
He said 43,000 Australians visited Langkawi last year and the number for the first six months this year was 15,000.

On the three-day mission to Singapore last month, he said it had been successful with many queries received from tour agencies there.
Lada statistics showed that 37,988 tourists from Singapore visited Langkawi last year compared with 34,643 in 2007, the fourth highest number, after tourists from the United Kingdom, Thailand and Australia, he said.

Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Stay away from Australia & USA - Influenza A H1N1

Malaysians have been advised against visiting Australia and the United States as the number of influenza A (H1N1) cases in the country continues to rise.


Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said although the World Health Organisation (WHO) had not issued a travel ban, it was best for Malaysians to weigh the risks of going to H1N1-infected countries.

Muhyiddin was commenting on influenza A cases in the country, many of which were “imported” from Melbourne, Australia, the H1N1 flu capital of the world.

As of June 8, the US recorded 13,217 cases with 27 deaths, among the highest in the world.

Two students who returned from holidays in Melbourne and another from a vacation in the US were among the latest Malaysian victims.

SJK (C) Jalan Davidson in Kuala Lumpur, where one of the students had infected two classmates, has been ordered to be shut down for a week

and all the teachers, students and their parents have been ordered to be quarantined at home.


Source : NST
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

MAS in talks with Qantas

MALAYSIA Airlines said on Tuesday it has begun talks with various carriers, including Australia's Qantas, to form tie-ups including joint ventures as carriers face a tough economic environment.

The airline's managing director and CEO Idris Jala had previously denied reports that Malaysian and Australian carriers were in merger talks.

Mr Jala made the latest comments after Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak reportedly said the government was open to a tie-up involving Malaysia Airlines. The government owns more that 90 per cent of the national carrier.

'The present conditions in the world dictate to us to be creative and innovative provided we can agree on the participation of foreigners on a win-win basis,' Mr Najib was quoted as saying by the Malaysian Reserve newspaper.

Mr Jala said that while Malaysia Airlines would pursue strategic partnerships, the government would have the final say in the decision to go ahead with a tie-up.

'Any partnership that we pursue will require engagement with, and approval by, key stakeholders,' he said.

'Malaysia Airlines is very pleased with the continued strong support from the government. We will do everything possible to fulfill the interests of the airline in line with the aspirations of the nation.'

Mr Jala said that 'more details will be announced as and when we have finalised the terms of any of these partnerships. At this stage, we have no further comment.'

Malaysia Airlines has undergone a sweeping turnaround programme, including staff layoffs and route closures, which ended a series of disastrous losses and produced a record profit in 2007.

Last month however, the carrier said net profit for the third quarter shrank 90 per cent to RM38 million (S$15.7 million), from RM364 million in the same period last year due to higher fuel costs.

The International Air Transport Association last week said the aviation industry is expected to post a loss of US$2.5 billion (S$3.69 billion) in 2009 due to the economic crisis.

'The outlook is bleak,' said Giovanni Bisignani, the association's director general and chief executive

Source : TheStraitTimes
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2008]

TA Enterprise buys Westin Melbourne for RM390m

TA Enterprise Bhd is acquiring the property and business known as The Westin Melbourne in Australia for RM389.12mil from RPHT Pty Ltd and RPHT Operations Pty Ltd.

TA Enterprise told Bursa Malaysia yesterday the acquisition of the freehold five-star hotel, which is part of the 16-storey Regent Place Development, only included the 262 rooms and hotel amenities located on nine floors of the development.

It said the net book value of the hotel was A$137.41mil as at June 30, 2008.

The company added that for the 12 months ended July 31, 2008, the hotel occupancy had increased to 82.8% while the average room rate had risen to A$311.22.

Source : Star
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2008]

Smart deals for hard times

Times are tight, but clever travellers know there are big discounts to be had, writes Jane E. Fraser.

And now for the good news...

The economic cloud hanging over Australia might be putting a dampener on spending but it does have a silver lining for determined travellers.

Those who keep an eye on the market over coming weeks can expect to find some bargains as operators drop prices to shore up demand. While some are raising prices to offset currency fluctuations, others are starting to discount rates and packages to encourage Australians to keep travelling.

Adding to this are ongoing reductions in airline fuel surcharges, due to a drop in the price of crude oil.

Airlines including Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, Air Mauritius and Lufthansa have lowered their fuel surcharges in recent weeks.

There are some good international airfare deals in the market, with carriers sticking to their traditional pattern of releasing earlybird specials towards the end of the year for travel the following year. Flights to Europe are selling from about $1900 and earlybird specials for package tours and cruises are also available.

Singapore Airlines says it has released its earlybird fares earlier than normal, to help restore confidence in the market, and has extended the concept to more destinations.

Even rail operators are getting in on the act, with Rail Plus offering free days and discounts of up to 25 per cent on rail passes for next year.

Agencies that specialise in cruising are reporting unprecedented discounts from the international cruise lines that normally rely on US and British passengers to fill their berths. Cruises from Australian ports are selling at half or even a third of normal rates as cruise lines scramble to boost passenger numbers.

The managing director of Creative Cruising, Ernie Skalsky, says: "In most cases you can get on to the four-and-a-half to five-star vessels for around $100 a day, all inclusive.

"That's tremendous value for money."

Luxury travel provider Abercrombie & Kent is offering a two-for-one deal for Clipper Odyssey South Pacific cruises booked by the end of this month. The cruises are priced in US dollars, so travellers will still feel exchange-rate pain, but the deal represents unusual savings for the traveller.

It is difficult to pinpoint which sectors of the industry are suffering most, with agents and operators reporting mixed results. There is general agreement the market for older travellers has dropped and luxury operators are starting to concede they are losing bookings.

The backpacker and adventure-travel market is traditionally resistant to economic conditions and the largest adventure travel operator, GAP Adventures, says it is holding up well. All-inclusive holiday providers such as Club Med are also doing well (see breakout box).

Many hotels and resorts are offering deals such as "second person stays free" or "three nights for the price of two", while some have released specific "crunch time" packages or "budget beater" vouchers.

Families will also benefit from "kids stay free" deals, or packages that include activities or kids' club passes.

Coach tour operator APT is offering a "discount on a discount" on some of its Tasmanian tours, doubling previously offered discounts as it struggles to fill seats.

Australian travellers have always been resilient and hard to discourage, with the market recovering well after incidents such as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the SARS outbreak.

With interest rates dropping and government handouts on the way, it is likely many Aussies will shrug off the economic situation and continue to hit the road.

BEST VALUE

The best way to get value for the Aussie dollar is to spend it in Australia but for travellers who want to head overseas, there are options without the ouch factor.

Lonely Planet spokesman Malcolm O'Brien says for those who still hanker for a far-flung destination, Brazil has a favourable exchange rate.

O'Brien says Iceland is another option, provided reasonably priced flights are available, as the economic situation has brought down prices in what has traditionally been an expensive destination for travellers.

In Asia, O'Brien recommends Korea, which has a good exchange rate and offers activities such as hiking, hot springs and Buddhist temples.

Popular South-East Asian destinations such as Thailand and Vietnam are also worth watching. "The hotels and resorts are dropping their prices because they're not enjoying the occupancy they want," he says.

Closer to home, O'Brien recommends New Zealand, which remains good value, and Vanuatu, which he says is a good place to get back to basics.

EXTRA SAVINGS

One direction travellers turn to when times get tight is all-inclusive holidays. Club Med, for example, is recording double-digit growth in Australian bookings. While general manager Heidi Kunkel says the growth is partly due to company's move towards more upmarket holidays, she knows all-inclusive pricing is a big drawcard. "There are no surprises on the credit card when you return because everything is included and paid prior to departure," she says.

P&O Cruises Australia is also bucking the trend, with strong forward bookings.

While others are delaying investments, P&O is doubling its Australian fleet in the next two years.

Source : TheAge
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2008]

AirAsia ready to fly Bali-Perth and Darwin

Indonesia AirAsia (IAA) has announced its intention to open an additional operational base in Bali as the next step to establishing a regional presence for the carrier.

As reported in www.balidisovery.com, chief officer of IAA, Dharmadi, told Bisnis Indonesia that the new Bali home base will start operations in late March 2008, serving as a turn around point for new flights planned to Darwin and Perth.

The new Australian destinations are expected to start operating in September-October 2008.

Indonesia AirAsia's fleet of Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-300 aircraft will serve the new Australian services.

The Bali base is also expected to offer direct flight connections to Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.


Source : TravelMole
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2008]

RM30mil sales for flights to Gold Coast

AirAsia X has clinched RM30mil in sales for flights to Australia’s Gold Coast since its maiden trip on Nov 2, said chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani.

“We have had over 30,000 confirmed bookings to the Gold Coast in less than two months,” Azran told a press conference yesterday.

AirAsia X, an affiliate of AirAsia Bhd and Malaysia’s only low-cost long-haul carrier, has been promoting flights to the Gold Coast since Sep 29.

To further enhance AirAsia X’s travel services to Gold Coast, AirAsia X has signed an agreement with Tourism Queensland.

Datuk Tony Fernandes

Azran said the five-year agreement would help AirAsia X increase the number of flights to the Gold Coast and help develop tourism to Queensland.

“We currently have four flights a week (to Gold Coast) and hope to have daily flights by year-end,” he said.

According to Azran, the agreement would see both parties implementing marketing activities to promote international tourism to Queensland with the Gold Coast International Airport as the primary gateway.

He also said joint marketing activities would be undertaken in various international markets such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China and other South-East Asian markets to support the route to Gold Coast operated by AirAsia X.

“Our marketing activities will include promotions via print and electronic media, and road shows (in those countries),” he added.

While Azran did not specify how much the marketing activities would cost AirAsia, he said the group invested roughly RM30mil a year to promote the company brand.

Azran said its current ridership for the KL-Gold Coast-KL sector comprised 60% Malaysians and South-East Asians and the balance Australians.

Meanwhile, AirAsia signed a contract with Aviation Australia whereby the latter would provide aircraft maintenance engineering training to local engineers.

According to AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes, AirAsia started a revision programme earlier this month at its AirAsia Academy in Sepang.

He said the training provided by Aviation Australia was in compliance with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and consisted of theory refreshers and EASA-compliant exams.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

AirAsia X opens new opportunities

TRAVEL agents in Malaysia say the start of longhaul, no frills airline, AirAsia X to Gold Coast, Australia, at the end of September or early October offers the possibility of creating new packages that appeal to budget conscious Malaysian and Australian travellers.

At a press conference on Friday, Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) founder and director, Datuk Tony Fernandes, said airfares would range from as low as RM90 (US$26) to an average fare of RM1,900 (US$547) for a return ticket, including taxes. AirAsia X, operated by FAX, will fly the Kuala Lumpur-Gold Coast route four times weekly.

Donaplus Tours & Travel managing director, Mr Dominic Sinnappan, said he expected an influx of grassroots travellers from Malaysia and Australia and he would create new packages for the inbound and outbound markets.

He added: "AirAsia X fares allow grassroots travellers such as factory workers from Malaysia an opportunity to travel to Australia and we are looking at four-night/five-day packages to the Gold Coast with accommodation in budget hotels.

"For the inbound market from Australia, we're looking at the same length of stay in Sabah and the beaches off Terengganu as we know Australians love nature and beach holidays. We may also introduce gastronomy tours."

Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel (AOS) group managing director, Mr Anthony Wong, said he would employ a full-time representative in Sydney to promote Malaysia more aggressively to leisure tourists.

The company's general manager - domestic & outbound, Ms Latifah Tamerlane said AOS was also looking at family travel packages to Gold Coast and other special interest tours in Australia such as gastronomy and eco-travel.

With the new services, inbound tour operator, Asia Experience COO, Mr Ngiam Foon, said he hoped to grow his business from Australia by 20 per cent.

AirAsia X CEO, Mr Azran Osman-Rani, said subsequent destinations this year include Hangzhou and Tianjin in China and Avalon Airport in Australia. Next year, there are plans to fly to Amritsar in India.


Source : TTG
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

IGB plans hotel in Australia

IGB Corp Bhd plans to build a hotel in Australia within 18 to 24 months should it succeed in securing the project.

Group managing director Robert Tan said the hotel, located in the heart of Sydney, was expected to carry the St Giles international hotel brand name, similar to its hotel in London.

“We have tendered for this project. We have not got the property yet and we are looking for other investments as well,” he said after the company AGM yesterday.

Robert Tan

Tan said IGB intended to manage the hotel, as it did with its hotels in Malaysia. It would be a three- to four-star hotel, he said, adding that the company picked Australia for the country’s good occupancy rates and stable political environment.

The property player, he said, was also eyeing emerging markets in Eastern Europe as part of its investments abroad.

Tan said IGB’s MiCasa All-Suite Hotel in Yangon, Myanmar was charting at least 80% in occupancy, as that country was experiencing strong arrivals of Chinese and Indian tourists.

“The business there is quite promising. Hopefully there will be more efforts to promote tourism there,” he added.

On the local front, Tan said Visit Malaysia Year 2007 had boosted occupancy rates, leading to a growth of 10% to 15% in the group’s bottomline.

“The hotel occupancy rates have been going up steadily since last year, mostly from local traffic,” he said.

Cititel Hotel has an occupancy rate of about 85% to 90% and the Renaissance Kuala Lumpur, 75% to 80%.

On the sale of Renaissance, Tan said there were many interested parties, mostly foreigners, but the offers received were below IGB’s target price.

“There are a few parties doing due diligence now, but there is nothing to report at this juncture,” he said but declined to disclose the target price.

On the traffic situation in Mid-Valley City, Tan said IGB had to date spent RM500mil to improve the area’s linkages and expected the link to the Abdullah Hukum Putra LRT station to be ready in a few months.

“We are ready to work on this link and are awaiting approvals from the authorities. We hope to complete it in time for the opening of The Gardens in September,” he added.

Tan said the link would consist of a pedestrian walkway and a travellator. IGB is also increasing parking space in the area to 14,000 bays by year-end from 9,000 currently.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, IGB announced a net profit of RM33.4mil for the first quarter ended March 31, against RM27.9mil in the previous corresponding period.

Revenue, however, fell marginally to RM141.7mil from RM147.1mil on lower contribution from the property division but this was mitigated by higher profits from its hotel business as well as an exceptional gain from the disposal of investments.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

New packages to woo Aussies to Penang

DISCUSSIONS are under way to create new multi-destination tour packages with Penang as one of the stops in an effort to woo more Australian tourists.

State Tourism Development Committee chairman Teng Chang Yeow said discussions had begun last month between travel trade players and airlines.

The parties concerned have to work out special tie-up deals since there was no direct connectivity between Australia and Penang, he added.

“Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has flights from Perth, Sydney and Melbourne to Kuala Lum-pur, and we are looking at introducing packages that will bring tourists to Penang via those flights.

“From Penang, they can hop over on Firefly flights to other destinations including Koh Samui and Phuket.

Token of appreciation:Dr Magasdi(right)presenting a souvenir to Teng.With them is Dr Teng.

“We have appointed a Perth-based Penan-gite who is running a tour agency there to act as the contact. He is now helping to co-ordinate the discussions,” said Teng.

He was speaking at a press conference after eight members of a delegation from the Adelaide City Council, led by Deputy Mayor Dr Cris Magasdi, made a courtesy call on him and fellow state executive councillor Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan. The delegation is visiting Kuching, Penang and Kuala Lumpur from May 1 to 12. The group arrived in Penang on May 4 and left for Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

During the courtesy call, Dr Magasdi suggested a business exchange platform for the sharing of ideas and knowledge.

“We would like to see more co-operation and exchange of information and knowledge between professionals in Penang and Adelaide, such as in the housing, electronics, education and tourism industries.”

He also said he was pleased to learn that there were many students from Penang pursuing their tertiary education in Adelaide and some students from Adelaide studying at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

“This is positive, as it is good for young people to be immersed in different environments so that they can learn to understand and respect other cultures, races and religions,” he added.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]