Longhaul demand surges for Malaysia

OUTBOUND agents are all smiles over the enthusiastic demand for longhaul destinations this year-end. The improved economy and pent-up demand have spurred bookings from those who had shelved travel plans last year due to economic uncertainties.

Malaysian Harmony Tours & Travel CEO, Cooper Huang, said demand for high-end tour packages, such as the nine-day New Zealand full-board package from RM7,188 (US$2,269) and nine-day Tunisia tour from RM6,488, were moving beyond his expectations. He expected sales volumes this year to surpass last year's by at least 10 per cent.

Echoing similar sentiments was Mayflower Acme Tours deputy general manager of channel management, Abdul Rahman Mohamed, who noted that Malaysians were looking for value add-ons. He said the company's Europe combo deal packages, combining air tickets, taxes and travel vouchers worth RM500, were well received. He added that popular outbound destinations for year-end travel were London, Paris and Amsterdam.

Huang and Abdul Rahman were among 50 exhibitors at the three-day Malaysia International Travel Mart in Kuala Lumpur, organised by the Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association with Malaysia Airlines as the main sponsor. The travel fair ended yesterday.

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

Strong wave of bookings for Malaysian June holidays

OUTBOUND agents report strong demand for regional and longhaul destinations during the upcoming two-week school holidays that start on June 7.

Parlo Tours general manager Kerry Tam said she had sold out group departures for a 10-day holiday combining three countries - Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Russia and Central Europe are also popular destinations.

Ramza Travel & Tours managing director Kay Azmin said the Gold Coast in Australia is a popular family destination due to its many theme parks.

She said 13-day Umrah tours to Mecca and Medina are also very popular. "Many choose group travel as the costs work out to be cheaper than FIT travel."

Sutra Travel managing director Syed Razif Al Yahya said total package prices for Umrah had increased by 10 to 15 per cent over last year, mainly because of the short supply of rooms in Mecca.

He added that leisure travel to regional destinations continue to thrive, particularly those points serviced by low-cost carrier AirAsia.

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

More Malaysians Visit Bali, Indonesia

More Malaysians are holidaying in the resort island of Bali in Indonesia with 43,678 arrivals recorded between January and June this year.

Bali Governor Dewa Beratha said 32,674 Malaysians visited the island during the same period last year.

Malaysians formed the fifth largest number of foreign tourists in Bali after Japan, Australia, Taiwan and South Korea, he said here after receiving a courtesy call from a group of journalists from Malaysia, Palau and Kiribati.

The journalists are here on a nine-day visit since Aug 12 organised by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry.

Dewa said Bali received about 1.2 million tourists each year including from China, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and France.

He expected an increase in tourist arrivals this year with Bali hosting the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Conference from Sept 25 to 28 and also the International Conference on Climatic Change from Dec 3 to 14.

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

Hong Kong wants more Muslim tourists from Malaysia

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is targeting to increase the number of Muslim tourists from Malaysia.

Its regional director (South/Southeast Asia) David Leung said for the first five months of 2007, there were 173,000 visitors from Malaysia, of which a substantial portion comprised Muslims.

There were 445,000 Malaysian visitors to Hong Kong in 2006.

"The 173,000 figure is about 10% more than the figure for the same corresponding period of 2006.

"We expect a single digit growth in Malaysian visitors to Hong Kong for the second half of this year," he said.

Leung spoke at a workshop for Muslim travelers to Hong Kong from Malaysia.

The workshop is organised by HKTB and supported by Cathay Pacific Airways and Uni Asia Tours Hong Kong.

"The completion of Disneyland in 2005, the Wetlands Park in 2006, and the recent completion of the cable car ride in Lantau Island were the crowd pullers for tourism," he said.

Leung said to attract more Muslim visitors from Malaysia, HKTB would launch in October a guide book for Muslim travelers in Hong Kong.

"The book contains information and addresses of all the halal-certified restaurants in Hong Kong.

"It also contains information of the interesting tourism sites in Hong Kong," he said.

Leung said the guidebook would be made available at travel agents and airline companies in the South and Southeast Asia region.

"The workshop is to address the religious and dietary need of Muslim travelers in Hong Kong.

"It is also to update travel agents' product knowledge and enable them to better understand what Hong Kong can offer to Muslims visitors," he said.

HKTB will be having a similar workshop in Kuala Lumpur on July 12 (Thursday).

Leung said Muslims travelers from Malaysia to Hong Kong started to increase some five years ago.

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

Malaysian Companies Seeking new Experiences in China

MALAYSIAN corporate companies sending incentive groups to China are buying more teambuilding experiences and new destinations outside the traditional cities of Beijing and Shanghai, and Hainan island.

And apart from Malaysian Chinese's incentives and meetings market, the country's other major ethnic groups - the Malays and Indians - are also keen on China.

H.T.T. Travel's assistant operations manager - incentive, conventions meetings, Ms Grace Hen, said the company's MICE business for China had been growing by about 10 per cent since 2000 because it was an affordable destination.

Holiday Tours & Travel sales manager conventions & incentive planners, Ms Kelly Kwan, added: "We have accommodated special requests in the past where our groundhandlers had to apply for licences to hold events such as a dinner at the Great Wall of China and tea at the Summer Palace in Beijing. For first-timers, Beijing and/or Shanghai are must-visit destinations. But repeat travellers would like to see new places."

Tibet and Outer Mongolia have a lot to offer and she is at the show to meet groundhandlers in these areas, and hoteliers of local five-star hotels from all over China.


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