HKIA records further air traffic decline

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 3.8 million passengers in November 2008, representing a year-on-year drop of almost six percent. Air traffic movements fell by over one percent from November 2007 to 24,815.

The decline in passenger throughput was driven mainly by contracting visitor volume, particularly from long-haul markets including North America and Europe. The Chinese Mainland and South-east Asian markets also showed a considerable decline. The closure of Suvarnabhumi Bangkok Airport from November 25 to December 3, during which over 230 flights were cancelled, also contributed to the drop in passenger and cargo throughput last month.

Passenger volume and air traffic movements in the first 11 months of this year grew by over two percent each over the same period in 2007, to 44.5 million and 276,535, respectively.


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

Malaysia to establish one-stop centre for business events

Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, YB Dato’ Sri Azalina Dato’ Othman Said, outlined the details of the establishment of the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) at a press conference held recently at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

This follows the announcement made on December 3 by Deputy Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak to strengthen Malaysia’s tourism industry by targeting the business events market.

MyCEB will be a one-stop centre in coordinating business events activities in the country. Its goals are to secure business events for Malaysia and establish the country as the preferred business events destination worldwide.

MyCEB will have an advisory council made up of experienced individuals and leaders from the private and government sectors. An initial budget of MYR5 million (about US$1.4 million) has been set aside for its establishment.

A total of 1,013,104 tourists visited Malaysia for business events purposes in 2007, an increase of almost 24 percent over 2006.


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

Minimal decrease in Malaysia’s September tourist arrivals

Tourist arrivals to Malaysia totalled almost 1.6 million in September, a 0.1 percent decrease over the same figure in September last year.

Cumulatively, tourist arrivals recorded from January to September this year total 16,329,855, representing an increase of over four percent, year-on-year.

Singapore maintained its position as the largest tourist generating market for Malaysia last month, followed by Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, China (including Hong Kong & Macau), Australia, India, Japan, the Philippines and the United Kingdom.


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

Singapore’s tourism arrivals still down in September

Visitor arrivals to Singapore in September reached 739,000, registering a decline of a little over four percent, year-on-year. However, visitor days were estimated at 3.2 million days, an increase of over six percent, compared to September last year.

Indonesia, Australia, P R China, India and Japan were Singapore’s top five visitor-generating markets last month, accounting for 52 percent of total visitor arrivals.

The Singapore Tourism Board said that the decline in visitor arrivals in the recent months reflects the challenging global economic environment and outlook for the tourism sector, which may continue into 2009. With the current global economic climate, there is now a general air of uncertainty, which has impacted consumer sentiments and discretionary spending.

Singapore’s visitor arrivals and tourism receipts are expected to fall short of the 2008 targets.


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

Malaysia, Singapore tie up to bring in Middle East travellers

Malaysia and Singapore have teamed up with Singapore Airlines to offer an exclusive travel deal for Middle East visitors.

The travel package is seen to increase tourist arrival from the Middle East by 28 percent or from close to 400,000 visitors in 2007 to over half a million this year.

Visitors from the UAE are invited to avail of the five-day, night twin city package that covers airfare and hotel accommodations in both Singapore and Malaysia until November.

Tourism officials said Middle East tourists have shown growing interest in the two South-East Asian countries owing to its family-friendly environment and strong cultural links.



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

Malaysia’s tourist arrivals hit 12-million mark

Malaysia has recorded a total of 12,891,202 tourist arrivals from January to July this year, compared to 12,404,377 tourist arrivals for the same period in 2007, representing an increase of almost four percent.

For the month of July, tourist arrivals posted an increase of 12.5 percent with 1,928,082 tourists compared to 1,713,951 for the same month last year.



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

AirAsia opens HCMC sales office

AirAsia has officially opened its new sales office in one of the busiest areas of downtown Ho Chi Minh City, in a bid to bring the airline closer to its Vietnamese guests. The new office opening also signals AirAsia’s commitment in playing a larger role in one of the fastest growing economies in the Southeast Asian region.

AirAsia currently operates daily flights to Ho Chi Minh City from Kuala Lumpur with a combination of 11 flights weekly to Ho Chi Minh City as a group.


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

Almost 1.9M tourists visit Malaysia in May

A total of 1,899,148 tourists visited Malaysia in May this year, representing an increase of 3.1 percent compared to the same month in 2007. Cumulatively, tourist arrivals recorded from January to May this year were 9,001,765, representing a 1.3-percent increase to same period last year.

Singapore maintained its position as the biggest tourist generating market for Malaysia with 1,011,090 Singaporeans visiting the country. Others in the top ten list are Indonesia, Thailand, China (including Hong Kong & Macau), Brunei, India, the Philippines , Japan, Australia and South Korea.



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

Malaysia participates in Tourism Futures National Conference

The Director General of Tourism Malaysia, YBhg. Dato’ Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, gave a glimpse of Tourism Malaysia’s future direction and goals to key industry players at the sixth Tourism Futures National Conference.

Held at the Crowne Plaza Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, from June 2-4, the conference was organised by Tourism Australia, Tourism Queensland and Gold Coast Tourism.

On tourism targets, Dato’ Mirza said: “Tourist arrivals to Malaysia made up 11.3 percent of the total tourist arrivals in the Asia Pacific region, or 2.2 percent worldwide in 2007, with 20.9 million arrivals. We are currently working towards target arrivals of 22.5 million by the end of 2008, and ultimately 25.7 million by 2010.”

On challenges: “The tourism industry that we face today is a challenging one. The rising oil prices and airfares; the emerging and strengthening of new tourist destinations and brands such as Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia; as well as the control gained by individual travellers with the use of the World Wide Web as opposed to consulting travel agents – all influence the way we campaign in each market and in each country.”



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

Malaysia's March Tourist Arrivals

A total of 1,819,689 tourists visited Malaysia in March 2008, a drop of 4.5 percent compared to the same month in 2007.

Cumulatively, tourist arrivals recorded from January to March 2008 were 5,342,291, representing an increase of 1.2% compared to 5,280,094 for the same period in 2007.

Singapore maintained its position as the biggest tourist generating market for Malaysia with 882,787 Singaporeans visiting the country in March 2008. Others in the top ten list are Indonesia (185,537), Thailand (115,868), China (85,542), Brunei (70,829), Japan (40,318), India (39,621), United Kingdom (34,407), Australia (33,500) and the Philippines (30,515).

Most major markets also recorded double digit growth in the month of March 2008. They are Russia (50.8%), Canada (47.5%), South Africa (45.9%), Indonesia (43.6%), the Netherlands (42.6%), New Zealand (40.1%), France (36.0%), Germany (31.7%), the United Kingdom (30.4%), China (including Hong Kong & Macau) (27.8%), Cambodia (19.8%), India (19.3%), Australia (18.9%), the Philippines (12.3%), and South Korea (10.1%).

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

Malaysia bats for 15 percent increase in UAE arrivals

Leveraging on the appeal of the Visit Malaysia Year, which has been extended until August 2008, Tourism Malaysia is targeting a 15-percent increase in arrivals from the United Arab Emirates by year-end. Arrivals from this market hit 38,000 in 2007, a nine-percent increase over the previous year.

With the extended Visit Malaysia Year come new events and extra additional flights from Eithad, Emirates, Malaysian Airlines and Yemeni Airlines.

Currently, the most popular destinations for UAE nationals are Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Langkawi. Malaysia has also started introducing new destinations to the market, specifically, Terengganu, Sabah, Malacca and Johor.



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

World’s largest giant observation wheel opens in Singapore

Singapore Flyer, the world’s largest giant observation wheel, opened here yesterday.

“Located at the perfect spot in Marina Bay, Singapore flyer is proud to be the first gem of a necklace of developments to be completed over the next three years,” Florian Bollen, chairman of Singapore Flyer Pte Ltd, said in his opening speech.

The 165-metre tall Singapore Flyer was planned, developed and constructed over a period of five years at a cost of S$240 million (about US$176.9 million).

“The way the Singapore Flyer has been realized is a great example of how the world comes together in this cosmopolitan city to achieve truly out standing results: Japanese and Chinese construction companies, German funding and certification, English engineering and cables, Indian and Italian software, Singapore governmental support and marketing, Australian project management, just to name a few who came together for this truly great global project,” Bollen said.

From 28 spacious, air-conditioned Singapore Flyer capsules, visitors can admire 360-degree views of Singapore’s cityscape and parts of Malaysia and Indonesia.



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

Malaysia posts continued visitor arrival growth

A total of 1,742,468 tourists visited Malaysia in February 2008, an increase of 5.5 percent compared to the same month in 2007.

Cumulatively, tourist arrivals recorded from January to February 2008 were 3,522,602, representing an increase of 4.4 percent compared to 3,373,790 for the same period in 2007.

Singapore maintains its position as the biggest tourist generating market for Malaysia with 877,078 Singaporeans visiting the country in February 2008.

Others in the top ten list are Indonesia (145,462), Thailand (126,451), China (99,599), Brunei (67,181), India (38,664), Japan (37,395), United Kingdom (33,438), Australia (28,443) and the Philippines (27,759).

The top ten tourist generating markets from January to February 2008 were Singapore (1,738,093), Indonesia (325,310), Thailand (235,181), China (172,832), Brunei (144,729), India (77,058), Japan (71,641), Australia (67,311), United Kingdom (62,162) and South Korea (52,819).




Source : Travel Weekly

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

A good start for Malaysia in 2008

The year 2008 has begun on a positive note for Malaysia’s tourism industry. In January 2008 Malaysia received 1,780,134 tourists, an increase of 3.4% compared to the same period in the previous year.

The top ten tourist generating markets for January 2008 were Singapore (861,015), Indonesia (179,848), Thailand (108,730), Brunei (77,548), China (73,233), Australia (38,868), India (38,394), Japan (34,246), United Kingdom (28,724) and South Korea (26,216).

For the month of January 2008, double digit growth was recorded for tourist arrivals from Canada (44.9%), Cambodia (41.6%), the Netherlands (37.9%), New Zealand (30.0%), Australia (29.1%), Germany (26.5%), India (22.8%), France (19.3%), Indonesia (13.2%) and United Kingdom (11.0%).


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

Malaysia’s 2007 tourist arrivals exceed target

Tourist arrivals to Malaysia in 2007 reached 20.97 million, surpassing the 20.1 million target set by the government. The figure represents an increase of 19.5 percent compared to the same period in 2006. Total tourist receipts for 2007 was MYR46.1 billion (US$14.373 billion), surpassing the targeted figure of MYR44.5 billion.

Top ten tourist generating markets for 2007 were Singapore (10,492,692), Indonesia (1,804,535), Thailand (1,625,698), Brunei (1,172,154), China (689,293), India (422,452), Japan (367,567), the Philippines (327,140), Australia (320,363) and the United Kingdom (276,213).



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

Malaysia to host AITE 2008 in May

The Asia International Tourism Expo 2008 (AITE 2008) will be held for the first time in Malaysia from May 22-25, 2008 at Hall 4, Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

Jointly organised by the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association, Bumitra Malaysia and Malaysian Indian Tourism Association, the expo will comprise two days of business-to-business sessions and will be open to the public on the last day.

Some 200 buyers and sellers are taking part in the expo. These include airlines, cruise lines, health resorts and spas, hotels, MICE organizers and venues, travel agents, tourism boards and NTOs.


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

Malaysia wants more Event Market

Increasing its business events market – and particularly the number of incentive visitors – is a prime objective for Tourism Malaysia, which has its biggest booth ever at AIME.

China, Australia, India and the Middle East are key targets for Malaysia, which has 30 suppliers represented at its AIME booth.

Tourism Malaysia’s director, convention division, Zulkefli Haji Sharif said such a large contingent of suppliers – an increase of six on last year’s showing - will be a major benefit.

“We believe that a strong presence of suppliers will be able to get more business out of this market, especially on incentives,” he said.

“Every year, we feel that there is a lot more interest – this year’s scheduled appointments have been almost full for some of the suppliers.”

Malaysia has plenty to talk about. The Sarawak Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC) will open in mid-2009. The state-owned centre will be minutes from Kuching’s city centre, easily accessible by road or river, and will have a floor area of 36,500 square metres. It will cater for between 30 and 1600 delegates, with 14 break-out meeting rooms, and will complement the Sarawak Tourism Complex in Kuching, which can host up to 1,000 delegates.

Kuching will also have the new five-star Royal Suites hotel, which will be within walking distance of the centre.

This will add to the already impressive array of convention facilities, including the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and the new Persada Johor International Convention Centre.

Singapore remains the number one MICE market for Malaysia. But with Australia in the top 10, Tourism Malaysia has built on its exposure at AIME by recently conducting its own trade shows in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in order to entice more Australians to explore the opportunities in Malaysia.

“I believe 2008 will be a very challenging year,” said Sharif, who aims to keep their business events arrivals at 10 percent, while Tourism Malaysia’s target for 2008 rises to 22.5 million total visitors. “I hope with all the support from industry players both domestic and international, we can keep our MICE market at 10 percent,” he said.

Sharif said Tourism Malaysia was “going all out” to increase its incentives market, with particular focus on wooing China, Australia, India and the Middle East.


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

Penang gets ready for Malaysia’s first Hard Rock Hotel

Come 2009, the island of Penang will be rocking and rolling when Malaysia’s first Hard Rock Hotel throws opens its doors. The property, which is currently undergoing construction, will deliver a unique product which aims to infuse new excitement and energy into the popular holiday destination.

Hard Rock Hotel Penang is the third Hard Rock Hotel in Asia and also the third to be managed by HPL Hotels & Resorts, with the other two being Bali, Indonesia and Pattaya, Thailand.

Fronting the beaches of Batu Ferringhi, Hard Rock Hotel Penang will offer 252 musically-themed guestrooms, with most configured as deluxe rooms with sea, hill, and garden views; the lagoon view rooms come with direct pool access. There will also be nine studio suites and one Kings’ suite.

Four food and beverage outlets are planned for the resort, which will include a Hard Rock Cafe, an all-day dining restaurant and a bar/lounge. Facilities include a full service luxury spa, a fully equipped gym, a specialized Lil’ Rock Kids Club. Hard Rock Hotel Penang will also offer guests a main trademark of the Hard Rock Hotel experience, that is, an incredible oversized free-form pool totaling 2,400 square metres, complete with sand islands, water slides and poolside cabanas.


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

MAS on track with PSS implementation

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is on track with its Passenger Services System (PSS) implementation, having completed a number of its planned initiatives on time, since its launch in September 2006.

At a briefing to the media last week, MAS senior general manager Transition Management, Dr Amin Khan said, “Last year, working closely with SITA, we successfully rolled out several solutions for E-ticketing and also the Check in and Boarding functions of our operations. One significant milestone was the e-ticketing implementation with all 10 Global Distribution System (GDS) partners which commenced on 14 May 2007 and completed in early Oct 2007.”

By 15 January this year, 45 out of 67 MAS routes were enabled for ET and the remainder will be enabled in tandem with the roll out of ET handling capability at the airports. This is expected to be completed by end May 2008.

At present, MAS has signed 42 out of 80 Interline ET agreements with partner airlines to allow interlining, with the rest targeted for completion by end May 2008.

Apart from E-ticketing at travel agents and MAS offices, the online booking engines of the airline and its subsidiaries will operate under the PSS environment.

MAS also targets to cut-over the Web Check-In facility for its customers by February 2008. This facility will provide passenger another self-service capability to check in and select seats through the internet 24 hours before flight departure, doing away with the tiredness of rush and long queues at the airport.


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

MAS offers low fares from RM39 one-way till January 23 2008

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is offering travelers super low airfares for bookings effective immediately till 23 January 2008 through its Call Centre, ticket offices and online.

These promotional offers are for both domestic and regional air travel on the airline’s flights out of KL International Airport.

Customers can enjoy these low air fares for travel from January 14 to March 31 2008 on domestic routes and from January 9 to March 152008 for regional sectors.


The rock-bottom one-way fares start from as low as RM39 (US$12) for Malaysian domestic travel, RM 79 (about US$24) for ASEAN destinations, RM199 (about US$61) to China and RM399 to the Indian Sub-Continent.



All promotional airfares are for one-way economy class travel on MAS and exclude fuel surcharge and other applicable surcharges.



A complete list of destinations and fares is available on www.malaysiaairlines.com.


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