The Ministry of Tourism on Monday launched its 'Fabulous Food 1Malaysia Trail 2009' booklet featuring ten best and must try food in three different categories - nasi lemak, laksa and Bak Kut Teh (meat bone tea).
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the main objective of producing the booklet was to provide a definitive guide in helping to navigate food aficionados.
Dr Ng said it was also to harness upon the attractions in the food sector and entrench them as outstanding products of
"Food tourism is very important. In 2009, the food bill alone from tourists to
"As such, based on public feedback, we came up with this booklet where the best 50 outlets for each category are listed as per the recommendations of the www.fabfood1malaysia.com website.
The booklet will be distributed nationwide," she told a press conference after launching the Fabulous Food 1Malaysia Food Trail 2009 here Monday.
She said the listing was also based on the quality of food, customer service and cleanliness.
She said since the launch of the website, over 30,864 visitors from 47 countries visited the website to report their recommendations from the rich diversity and variety of local food served by the best Malaysian restaurants and street food stalls.
For this year, Dr Ng said the ministry would continue the Fabulous Food 1Malaysia 2010 programme, which would be held from October until December.
"This year we choose three more types of food - sate, roti canai and nasi ayam. This way we hope to uplift our restaurants to be international standard.
"
The Fabulous Food 1Malaysia campaign which was launched last year, is a three-month campaign divided into three segments - Malaysia International Gourmet Food Festival in October, ASEAN Heritage Food Trail in November and Street Food Festival and Restaurant Food Festival in December.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Tourism Ministry Launches Booklet On Nasi Lemak, Laksa And Bak Kut Teh
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Malaysia To Attract 36 Million Tourists By 2020
He said the ministry had drawn up strategies to build density, develop clusters and high-value sectors in the industry.
Events such as the Genting Trailblazer, organised by Genting Malaysia Bhd, would befit the ministry's marketing efforts to strongly promote Malaysia's nature-based products and activities to a growing number of environmentally-conscious travellers, he said.
"As one of the 12 mega-biodiversity country in the World, Malaysia has a huge potential to use these resources in a sustainable manner for wealth creation," he told a press conference after launching the Genting Trailblazer 2010, here Tuesday.
In this regard, Dawos highlighted that sports and adventure tourism events such as the Genting Trailblazer could be developed into high-value products that had great potentials in contributing significantly towards the growth of the tourism industry.
Meanwhile, Senior Vice President Public Relations and Communications of Genting Malaysia Bhd Datuk Anthony Yeo said, the sixth edition of Genting Trailblazer came with an eco-friendly theme to promote a green mindset to preserve the local natural environment, specifically for the rainforest.
The event themed "An eco run in a million-year-old rainforest" showed that the group was keen to showcase the wonderful bio-diversity and splendour of the world's oldest rainforest surrounding Awana Genting Highlands, he said.
"Trailblazer is committed to the environment, echoing the Ministry's call for 1Malaysia Green, 1Malaysia Clean campaign.
"We will be working hand-in-hand with Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) to further promote the love of nature and minimal disruption to the environment, and also to promote 'Zero Waste' to deter the public from littering and to reuse available resources," he added.
The two-day event to be held from Oct 30 is now open for online registration at www.gentingtrailblazer.com or email to trailblazer@genting.com until Sept 30.
Source : bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Success of tourism industry in hands of all: Tourism Minister
"I believe theme parks have very good potential to attract repeat visitors and also boost domestic tourism in the 13 states of Malaysia," she told the media after launching the Asian Attraction Expo 2010, on Wednesday.
Dr Ng said currently, the country's 28 theme parks were concentrated on the west coast of the peninsula such as in Selangor, Malacca and in Genting Highlands, Pahang.
"We don't have any in the east coast at all, so we are looking at this. It is not a matter of how many theme parks we have. They can be of medium size but the most important is to provide a niche product," she said.
Dr Ng said she would be interested to discuss the matter with some states and urged the private sector to take the lead in building theme parks.
On the three-day expo organised by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), she said it would provide a good opportunity to learn more about the industry.
Over 200 suppliers from around the world are participating in the expo.
Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Success of tourism industry in hands of all: Tourism Minister
Attracting more tourists to Malaysia requires industry players to be creative and innovative in providing niche products and services that cater for various markets, including the corporate sector.
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said her ministry was prepared to assist with policies and guidelines for the industry and was willing to play its part. but ultimately the success and continued growth of the industry was in the hands of the players and all Malaysians.
“There needs to be a change in mindset of all Malaysians in terms of safety, security, hygiene and respect for the environment.
“For industry players, there needs to be self drive to look at creative and innovative ways to grow the industry,” she said yesterday at the second dialogue with industry players themed Malaysia Tourism Transformation Plan 2020 towards 36:168.
Ng said 36:168 represented Malaysia’s target of 36 million tourists and RM168bil in tourism receipts by 2020, the year Malaysia has set to achieve developed status.
“It’s a big challenge but achieveable if we are creative, innovative and competitive by developing niche and attractive packages for various segments of the tourist market, especially those with higher disposable income,” she said.
Ng said conscious consumption was a new tourism trend as consumers sought ecological and culturally sensitive travel products as well as meaningful experiences.
She cited several successful innovative tourist packages such as the homestay programme. “The homestay programme earned income totalling RM4.9mil in 2009 and up to May this year, we had 159 homestays nationwide with a total of 2,984 houses offering 3,008 rooms. A total of 70,417 visitors have experienced these homestays, of whom 17,842 were foreigners. Income earned during this period (January to May) was RM4.1mil,” she noted.
Ng said industry players should be cognisant of changing trends and offer travel packages to met tourists’ expectations.
She said to achieve the 36:168 target industry players needed to focus on capturing a bigger slice of the high-end tourist market, especially those in the business community as Malaysia’s good infrastructure was well suited to attract these individuals.
“With the creation of meaningful and high-value products, accompanied by excellence in service, the tourism industry will be able to attract greater numbers of high net-worth tourists willing to pay premium prices for first-rate experiences,” Ng said.
For the first quarter of this year, Malaysia registered a total of 5.75 million tourists, an increase of 5.3% compared with the same period in 2009.Source : STAR [tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Monday, July 05, 2010
We want to triple tourism receipts by 2020
Minister Datuk Seri Dr
“Right now, each tourist spends an average of RM631 on shopping, which is only 28% of total expenses. We hope it will increase to RM1,636 by 2020,” Dr Ng told a press conference after the leasing launch of
Dr Ng said her ministry was working with the Finance and International Trade and Industry Ministries to look into various duty-free articles to help promote
The Tourism Ministry was also addressing the traffic congestion issue around major shopping zones as well as managing and providing guidelines for events.
Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Friday, July 02, 2010
Malaysia prepares for Middle East season
The country will offer more activities to entice Arab tourists to stay longer in Malaysia during the month-long Ramadhan fasting period (August 11 to September 9) and Eid ul Fitr festival.
Newly-launched 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism 2010, from July to September, is poised to become an annual event attracting more high-yield visitors and art aficionados.
Other events during the Middle East travel season are the Putrajaya Flower & Garden Festival from July 10 to 18 and the Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival from July 24 to September 16.
Tourism Malaysia is working with relevant authorities to keep shopping malls open beyond 22.30 to give Middle East tourists more time to shop for the Eid ul Fitr festival. The NTO is also working with the religious department to get Middle East Imams (religious leaders) to perform Tarawih prayers during Ramadhan.
Source : TTG
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tourism Malaysia To Introduce Three-Year Calendar Rescue Plan
He said the plan would, among others, involve creating more advertisements to attract visitors to Malaysia.
"We have prepared the plan to further promote tourism in Malaysia to foreign tourists and visitors. The plan could perhaps bring more opportunities to tourists and industry players as well."
He said this after officiating at the 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism 2010 Festival (MCAT), Putrajaya Flora Fest 2010 and Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival 2010 presentation at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTiC), here Monday.
During the one-day event, Tourism Malaysia also organised a session with travel trade members to get their support and cooperation in promoting this year's key tourism events including MCAT, a new event initiated by Tourism Malaysia to promote Malaysian art and artists to the world.
Some 200 participants from the industry including officials from airlines, hoteliers and tour operators attended the event.
Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Friday, June 25, 2010
Malaysia targets 2 billion tourists
She said accommodation was particularly urgent, especially in the corporate tourism segment.
“The trend of accommodation is steering more towards corporate tourism.
“Not just to stay in the hotel room and be at the lobby, but tourists now want a homely atmosphere to stay,” she said after launching Fraser Place Kuala Lumpur (FPKL) on Jalan Perak here last night.
Dr Ng said Malaysia was on its way to reach RM115bil in tourism revenue in 2015 but more development in facilities and services were needed.
Malaysia was one of the few countries last year to record an increase in tourist arrivals by 7.6% despite the world economic downturn, she added.
“People come here because we have political stability.
“We squabble, we bicker, and the rakyat scold us, the leaders, sometimes.
“But it all stops at verbal conflicts,” she said.
Dr Ng added that Malaysia also wants Kuala Lumpur to move up to be among the top five most livable countries in ASEAN from its current 11th place.
The exclusive 215-unit FPKL she launched earlier is about 10 minutes walk from Suria KLCC.
Each unit of the serviced apartment comes fully equipped with modern comforts for the corporate jetsetter.
The luxurious FBKL marked Singapore-based Frasers Hospitality Pte Ltd’s first foray into Malaysia and was jointly developed with YNH Property Bhd.
According to Frasers Hospitality chief executive officer Choe Peng Sum, the company’s next Malaysian project, Fraser Residence Kuala Lumpur is underway and is slated to be completed by 2012.
Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tourism industry aims to contribute RM115bil
The tourism industry aims to contribute RM115bil in revenue and provide two million jobs in 2015, said minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.
“To achieve our 2015 target, our focus would be on attracting a larger share of high end travellers, capturing a bigger share of high growth segments and increasing the number of tourist arrivals,” said the Tourism Minister.
The segments identified were from Russia, India, China and Middle East.
Dr Ng said the 10th Malaysia Plan report recently unveiled by the Prime Minister targeted to improve Malaysia’s position to be within the top 10, in terms of global tourism receipts in 2015.
Regarding Kuala Lumpur, Dr Ng said the capital had the potential to become among the top five most livable cities in Asia, up from its current 11th ranking.
“To attract skilled human capital from overseas, Kuala Lumpur will be promoted as a city for those seeking quality and a varied lifestyle based on the environment, rich culture and a modern metropolis with a sophisticated infrastructure,” she said in her speech at the launching of the Fraser Place Kuala Lumpur on Jalan Perak on Thursday night.
Other cities, said Dr Ng, such as Georgetown, Johor Baru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu would also be made more attractive and livable with parks; public squares, walkways and waterfronts.
Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Malaysia outlines plan to lure in yield
MALAYSIA should enhance its product development and promotions to grab a greater share of the high-yield market.
These were among the recommendations presented to industry leaders yesterday by consulting firm, Jelas Dinamik, which had been commissioned by the Tourism Ministry to conduct a study on developing niche segments for high-yield longhaul markets, namely the UK, Germany, France, Russia and Sweden.
The study examined 13 categories – MICE, taxi service, car rental, promotional activities, luxury trains, food festivals, luxury cruises, hotels, airlines, golf tourism, ecotourism, spa/wellness and medical tourism.
The firm advised the Malaysian trade to create more boutique hotels, engage specialised marketing companies to push golf tourism and encourage environmentally-
To give ecotourism a further boost, facilities at lesser-known ecotourism locations should be upgraded and a variety of activities should be introduced at eco-lodges.
The Malaysian government is seeking to escape the middle-income trap and capture a greater share of high-yield tourists. The 2020 target is to get 3.5 times more tourist receipts than the 2010 target of RM54 billion (US$16.8 million).
Source : TTG
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Tourism Ministry To Launch Student Discovery Malaysia Programme In China
The programme is targeted at 10 to 15-year-olds to visit Malaysia with their parents, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, who is on a four-day working visit here.
"Through the programme, we are introducing educational tours such as discovering the flora and fauna in Malaysia through jungle trekking," she told Bernama on Friday.
Tour packages at affordable prices will be included in the programme to attract more families from China to visit Malaysia.
A group of 128 will be the first group to join the programme to visit the Kota Tinggi Resort at end of this month.
Dr Ng urged Malaysian resort and tour operators to participate in the programme to help promote the country's tourism industry.
"Besides educational tours, the ministry is also trying to link four-wheel drive associations in Malaysia and China to organise tours in Malaysia as our country can be the ideal location for four-wheel adventures," she added.
Dr Ng will also visit Zhengzhou city in central Henan province to attend the International Mayors Forum on Tourism today and meet local tour operators.
Malaysia will also participate in the World Tourism Day celebration in Guangzhou city on Sept 27 with 12 booths to promote Malaysian tourism products at the an exhbition.
"Some 200 million people are expected to visit the exhibition and the ministry is planning to conduct an investment seminar during the event to bring more investments from China to Malaysia," she added.
Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Tourism Ministry To Focus On Promoting Eco-Tourism
She said Malaysia had more then 1,000 species of flowering plants which could be developed into an interesting tourism product.
"Ecological tourism has a potential market which is yet to be developed and many European tourists are very interested in visiting garden and flower expos," she said, adding that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak also supported the idea of promoting ecological tourism in Malaysia.
"Malaysia won a gold medal in its maiden participation in the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show 2010, and this has proven that Malaysian tropical plants can be turned into an attractive tourism product," she said after a meeting with the mayor of the Xuchang Municipal Government, Li Ya, on Saturday.
Ng, who is on a four-day working trip to China, is visiting Guang Zhou and Zhengzhou. She had held dialogues with local tourism operators and attended the International Mayors' Forum on Tourism (IMFT) in Henan on Friday.
Ng said the ministry would look into the possibility of Malaysia signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Xuchang in conducting garden and flower expo visiting tours.
"The ministry will hold the Malaysia International Floral Parade in Putrajaya on July 10 and Xuchang will hold its international flower festival in September this year.
"This could be a chance for both countries to conduct bilateral tours to visit these events and encourage China tourists to visit Malaysia and vice versa," she said.
Ng also expressed Malaysia's interest to participate in the Xuchang international flower festival to showcase Malaysian flowering plants to China.
She also suggested to Li that Xuchang should consider exporting its unique pottery known as Jun porcelain to Malaysia and turn Malaysia into a trading centre for the pottery for Asean countries.
At her meeting with Henan Governor Guo Gengmao earlier, Ng had proposed that Henan consider promoting its historic places to Malaysian tourists while Malaysia would introduce its multicultural uniqueness to China tourists.
"Exchanging ideas and suggestions always helps to develop the tourism industry by introducing different packages to be offered to tourists," she said.
Ng also emphasised that the development of the tourism industry with other Asean countries as well as China should focus on collaboration rather than competition.
Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Tourism Now Included In Five-year Plan As Major Economic Player - Ng
She said this was because the government had now realised the importance of the tourism industry to the country's economic development.
"Previously, the tourism industry was ranked only as a minor player in Malaysia's economic development,
According to the 10th Malaysia Plan report, Malaysia targets to improve its position to be among the top 10 countries, in terms of global tourism receipts in 2015.
Dr Ng said the tourism industry contributed nine per cent to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year by generating RM1 billion in revenue per week.
"With the implementation of the liberalisation policy by the government, the industry can achieve greater development for many tourism-related industries," said Dr Ng who is on a four-day working trip to Guangzhou and Zhengzhou in China.
She said as the Chinese government had also included the tourism industry as an economic pillar, she believed that China as a major partner for Malaysia in this sector, could bring further development to the industry.
She also suggested that China and Malaysia set up a task force to study the possibility of collaborating in providing tourism services through mobile phones.
Meanwhile, Shao said the Chinese government would continue to encourage people in the country to travel abroad.
"However, we should not only focus on two-way traffic in tourist arrivals but to also look at the bigger picture," he said, adding that tourism had turned into a modern service industry which also brought development to many other sectors.
Shao said the China-Asean Free Trade Agreement (FTA) also helped to promote tourism with Asean countries.
Later, when delivering her keynote address at the International Mayors Forum on Tourism (IMFT) in Henan, Dr Ng said Kuala Lumpur was a significant example of a tourism city with its modern infrastructure and variety of entertainment.
"We believe that tourism does not discourage environmental protection. In fact, tourism helps to protect eco-balance in the city," she added.
The First IMFT was held in Zhengzhou, Henan Province in April 2008.
The second IMFT, which is held here now with the theme, "Tourism for Better City Life", has attracted the participation of more than 50 cities.
Dr Ng, who represented Malaysia, was the only representative invited to give a keynote address at the event.
Source : Malay Mail
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Malaysia Aims To Be Within Top 10 In Tourism Under 10 Malaysian Plan
The report, tabled in Parliament today, stated that it also targeted to increase the sector's contribution by 2.1 times, contributing RM115 billion in receipts and providing two million jobs in the industry in 2015.
According to the report, Malaysia ranked 16th in terms of global inbound tourism receipts, capturing approximately two per cent of the global market share in 2008.
Between 2006 and 2009, revenue from the tourism industry increased 67.1 per cent to RM53.4 billion, while tourist arrivals increased 43.6 per cent to 23.6 million.
To achieve the 2015 target, the report said focus would be on attracting a larger share of high spend travellers and capturing a higher share of high growth segments, particularly from Russia, India, China and Middle East, in addition to increase the number of tourist arrivals.
The report said tourism products would also be improved, through the creation of focused tourism clusters that would leverage on existing and new iconic tourism products.
For instance, Langkawi (the Geopark and Pulau Payar Marine Park), Penang (Georgetown Unesco World Heritage Sites) and Sabah (Sipadan and Kinabalu Park Unesco World Heritage Sites).
Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Malaysia goes for yield
MALAYSIA is shifting its direction from attracting mass, middle income tourists to high-yield visitors.
The target by 2020 is to bring in 3.5 times more tourism receipts than the present 2010 target of RM54 billion (US$16 billion), Amirrudin Abu, Tourism Malaysia's deputy director-general (marketing) told TTG Asia.
Yesterday, a lab initiated by the NTO's Performance Management and Delivery Unit kicked off a two-month exercise to brainstorm with key players from a cross-section of the tourism industry on getting out of the middle-income trap and wooing upscale tourists instead.
The lab will discuss how niche segments can be further marketed for optimum results, how to add value to current offerings, capacity building, infrastructure development and new markets.
"By August, we will have an inkling of what is the way forward," said Amirrudin.
Recommendations from the lab may result in Tourism Malaysia reviewing its role and destination marketing activities.
For years now, the Ministry of Tourism and its marketing arm, Tourism Malaysia, have been emphasising niche segments such as Malaysia My Second Home, MICE, Health and Education Tourism as these segments generate thrice as much revenue as the leisure segment.
Source : TTG
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tropical Malaysia Beckons Qataris
Nevertheless, she conceded that awareness about Malaysia among the Qataris was still low and steps must be taken to address the situation.
"I view my presence in Doha as the beginning of the discovery of Malaysia by the people of Qatar," she told a news conference in the Qatari capital Monday night in conjunction with Tourism Malaysia's roadshow to bring in more travellers from this Gulf nation.
Malaysia welcomed about 5,000 tourist arrivals from Qatar last year compared with 7,808 in 2008.
Dr Ng said Malaysia offered a value-for-money proposition to tourists.
Elaborating on her experience with Doha's hot weather, the minister said: "Now I fully understand why people from the Gulf countries need to go somewhere less hot during the summer months."
The mercury in this Gulf state could reach over 40-degree Celsius in the summer months.
"And green Malaysia is the best place to go for a vacation," she said as she extolled the virtues of spending a holiday in the Southeast Asian nation representing a cauldron of cultures of over 27 million people. Dr Ng said that nature was the biggest strength of Malaysia, a country blessed with beaches and jungles along with 54 marine parks.
"As I flew in this morning, I could see that you have the sea and sand but you don't have trees," she noted.
The minister underlined that Malaysia was the place to go for honeymoons as well as leisure holidays and health tourism.
At the news conference, she also launched holiday packages to Malaysia offered by Doha-based tour agency Unique Choice, which was represented by its executive director, Walter Dias.
Present were Tourism Malaysia's deputy director-general for planning Azizan Noordin and Tuan Razali Tuan Omar, the agency's Dubai-based director.
Dr Ng said visitors from Qatar should feel at home in Malaysia, a modern Muslim nation where halal food was easily available along with mosques for prayers.
Malaysia had over 400 four- and five-star hotels, with Kuala Lumpur alone offering more than 64,000 rooms, she said.
Accessibility should not be a problem, she observed, as Qatar Airways and a host of other Middle Eastern airlines were flying to Malaysia.
Despite 2009 being a challenging year for global tourism industry, Malaysia managed to attract 284,980 Arab visitors with a growth of 7.8 per cent over 2008, at 264,338. The target for 2010 is 300,000.
Soon after arrival in Doha, Dr Ng toured the waterfront Museum of Islamic Art and visited other interesting locations in the city.
Tourism Malaysia is hosting the Malaysia Gala Dinner at the Four Seasons Doha hotel Tuesday night in conjunction with the roadshow.
Doha is the second and final leg of Tourism Malaysia's roadshow following the conclusion of the Arabian Travel Market 2010 in Dubai on May 7.
Dr Ng led the tourism promotion agency's roadshow in Kuwait on May 8-9.
Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Friday, May 07, 2010
Dr Ng Hits The Ground Running At Dubai Travel Fair
Wearing an eye-catching red modern kebaya and selendang, the minister struck a gong to mark the occasion, toured the Melaka house-inspired two-storey structure, shook hands with Malaysian delegates and posed for the cameras with members of the Istana Budaya cultural troupe specially brought in for the travel fair. And then she got down to the business of wooing more Arab tourists to Malaysia, a melting pot of cultures of over 27 million people in the heart of Southeast Asia.
This is Malaysia's 17th year of participation at the ATM, billed as the largest travel and tourism fair in the Middle East, with more than 2,200 exhibitors from all over the world attending the 2010 edition. Many of the tourism ministers and VVIPs who graced the opening ceremony had gone home but Dr Ng is in Dubai until the end of the travel fair on Friday.
"I'm focusing on the Middle East because we're so strong here. We can't afford to lose our lead. I want to keep the momentum going so that Malaysia will always be seen as the lead player in this market," the minister explained.
Despite 2009 being a challenging year for the tourism industry, Malaysia managed to attract 284,890 visitors from this region with a growth of 7.8 per cent over 2008, at 264,338. The target for 2010 is 300,000.
Dr Ng observed that many Arab countries were also now starting to focus on the tourism industry to value add their economy. "They're not just focusing on oil and gas now. In promoting tourism, they're developing their deserts, putting money into infrastructure with an eye towards economic returns," the minister remarked.
Observers said Malaysia's neighbours in Southeast Asia as well countries in other parts of the world were also trying to drum up more travellers from the Middle East.
But Dr Ng is taking all these developments in her stride as she takes every opportunity in Dubai to drive home the point that Malaysia has a lot to offer as a tourist destination. And news that Malaysia had entered the top-10 list of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in terms of tourist arrivals for 2009 could not have come at a more opportune time.
At various sessions with the Press as well as meetings with top tour operators and airline bosses at ATM 2010, she highlighted Malaysia's tourism products.
Key segments being promoted in the Middle East market include leisure holidays such as beaches and islands, shopping, dining and eco-tourism. Special interest promotions are education tourism, medical and health tourism, honeymoon, spa and the Malaysia My Second Home programme.
Tourism Malaysia, she said, was also keen on luring Arab visitors to spend Ramadan in Malaysia where the fasting month was observed by Muslims and equally enjoyed by non-Muslim Malaysians.
In her presentations, Dr Ng pointed out that Malaysia enjoyed political stability and was a safe country to visit. Communication was a breeze in Malaysia, she said, as most Malaysians could speak English and many could even speak Arabic.
Dr Ng's friendly manner and charm were her arsenal in dealing with Middle Easterners. She broke the ice at a meeting with an Arab airline boss by telling him that she was getting better treatment here than anywhere else, contrary to her initial doubts over a woman leading a delegation to a "conservative area".
At an event Wednesday to launch holiday packages offered by Firefly Holiday, the minister decided to do away with the rostrum and chose to address the assembled members of the media nearer to them.
The intended objective of her presence in Dubai may well be to spearhead Malaysia's tourism drive, but it appears that it also serves as a study tour for Dr Ng who is visiting the city for the first time in her capacity as tourism minister. During a dinner cruise on a traditional dhow along the Dubai creek one evening, Dr Ng took in the sights of Dubai, the city skyline dominated by the glittering Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.
"You see how lighting is very important in accentuating the beauty of a building," she said, referring to the well-lit exterior of buildings lining both sides of the waterway. Our local authorities should think of all this," she said, noting that Dubai had managed to blend both the traditional and the modern in moulding itself as an international tourist spot.
The minister described the cultural performance on board the ship, an Egyptian swirling dance executed by two male dancers, as "fantastic". "This is the kind of performance that tourists appreciate," she said.
Dr Ng is leading a 120-member Malaysian delegation to the ATM, representing 54 hotels, 22 travel and tour operators, five state governments and Malaysia Airlines. Her support team at the ATM includes Tourism Malaysia's deputy director-general for planning Azizan Noordin and the agency's Dubai director Tuan Razali Tuan Omar. She will also lead Malaysia's post-ATM 2010 sales mission and road show to Kuwait and Qatar from May 8 to 12 aimed at further promoting Malaysia as a tourist destination.
Source : Bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Ministry to work closely with Pata in boosting tourism
THE Tourism Ministry will intensify collaboration with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (Pata) to strengthen and diversify its global network.
Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit said that Pata chapters served as a valuable platform in boosting tourism as the association had a strong reputation.
“We look forward to collaborating with Pata in promoting sustainability in the Sarawak tourism industry. Malaysia has a lot to offer, and by networking with Pata, we can achieve this,” he said when officiating at the Pata Foundation Charity Gala Dinner at Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) near Kuching on Sunday.
Selamat datang: Sarawak Cultural Village maidens giving a warm welcome to delegates at the meeting on Sunday. Dawos said the state’s races and ethnic groups living in harmony in a pristine landscape would certainly be a dream attraction for many.
Over 100 Pata delegates were given a glimpse of this through performances and fun activities by SCV’s “warriors and maidens”.
The delegates also tasted local dishes and sweet delicacies.
Pata corporate communications director Dale Lawrence said the association raised US$100,000 (RM320,000) for the foundation in the first half of this year and US$25,000 (RM80,000) through auctions.
The night featured a silent auction following the Pata awards presentation in which the Life Membership Award went to Pata board member Gloria Henderson. Another board member Luzi Matzig won the Chairman’s Award.
The Merit Award went to John King, also a board member, while Taylors University and College programme director Tony K. Thomas clinched the Face of the Future Award.
As for awards for chapters, Micronesia Chapter received the Excellent Chapter Award while the Indian Chapter received the Spirit Chapter Award.
Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Friday, April 09, 2010
Tourist Destinations Should Retain Uniqueness
She said this was apart from efforts to attract tourists by organising world class activities and programmes and tourism promotions.
"Travel agency STA Travel UK named Malaysia the cheapest of eight holiday destinations worldwide while Lonely Planet put Malaysia among the ten best countries to visit," she said at the ministry's excellent service award 2009 and Innovation Day 2010 here on Thursday.
Ng's text of speech was delivered by Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit.
She urged ministry staff to attract more tourists to visit the country and to upgrade knowledge and skills.
"We have to cooperate to meet the 20 million tourist arrivals targeted. It will be great if we can exceed the target," she added.
Source : bernama
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Hotel Players Urged Not To Underprice, Under-Value Services
He said their action may not necessarily bring in more business as high-end tourists did not mind spending.
"The hotel rates in Malaysia are the lowest in Asia-Pacific," Najib said at the opening the Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur here on Wednesday.
The five-star hotel, owned by Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) and managed by Boustead Holdings Bhd via Boustead Hotels & Resorts Sdn Bhd, cost RM200 million.
Najib said the country wanted tourists to have a "memorable and pleasant experience".
"In this respect, taxi drivers need to be always polite and friendly," he said.
He said the government would always give priority in the development of the tourism industry.
"In January, the tourist arrivals rose by 1.4 per cent. We hope that this year, the tourist arrivals will be higher than in 2009. Last year, the country managed to attract 23.6 million tourists," he said.
Meanwhile, LTAT chairman, Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor, said the company aimed to invest in valuable properties within the bustling city.
"The hotel complements our other properties, namely Bangunan LTAT and Chulan Tower which are both located within the radius of the Royale Chulan," he said.
He said Boustead Group's experience in managing a successful chain of Royale Bintang hotels would augur well for the group.
"We are confident that with their track record, the Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur will also be successful," he said.
Boustead Holdings group managing director, Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin said, the Royale Chulan was a jewel in the crown of the Royale Bintang group of hotels.
"Since its opening in April last year, the hotel is fast gaining an enviable reputation as the venue of choice for prestigious events locally and internationally," he said.
Source : Bernama
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