Royal Jordanian and MH sign free sale code-share agreement

Royal Jordanian and Malaysia Airline (MH), the national carrier of Malaysia, signed a unilateral free sale code-share agreement, whereby MH is the marketing carrier, placing its code on RJ flights operated on Amman-Kuala Lumpur-Amman sector.

The agreement has been effective since September 1, 2010.

RJ President/CEO Hussein Dabbas, who signed the agreement with MH Managing Director Tengku Dato' Azmil Zaharuddin, said: "The code-share agreement between RJ and MH is a free flow agreement whereby MH may sell unlimited seats on each Amman-Kuala Lumpur-Amman flight.”

Dabbas added: “After resuming its regular flights to the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, on June 2, after a 7-year suspension in operations between the two countries due to the weak economic feasibility of the route over the past years, this move comes as a result of the economic revival and the growth of commercial activity and tourism between the two countries.

“This will offer new opportunities for passengers and will boost the tourism sector as Malaysia is considered a gateway to Southeast Asia, particularly in the economic field where it will serve the traffic of businessmen and students.”

Royal Jordanian operates three flights a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, using its recently introduced Airbus A330s.

Dabbas added that RJ is also preparing to transform a code-share agreement from bilateral to unilateral with British Airways; it comes after having implemented the Amadeus system in October 2010. Next year, RJ is planning to increase the number of code-share agreements with its oneworld partners.

Currently, Royal Jordanian has marketing alliances, through code sharing, with several international airlines: American Airlines, British Airways, US Airways, Iberia, Malév Hungarian Airlines, Siberia airlines (S7), Tarom, Gulf Air, Syrian Airlines and Yemen Airways.

Zaharuddin expressed satisfaction with the agreement with Royal Jordanian:

“RJ is a highly appreciated airline, and thus clients will enjoy the high-class services RJ offers them on board its aircraft.

“MH guests will enjoy the same services as those provided to the RJ passengers. Crown Class passengers will have the opportunity to benefit from the extended services provided by the operating carrier.”

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New Visit Packages At Petronas Twin Towers

The Petronas Twin Towers will be offering new visit packages from Oct 1 to give the public an enhanced and more exciting experience when they tour Malaysia's popular tourist spot.

In a statement Monday, Petronas said the packages to be introduced, in addition to the existing Skybridge tour on Level 41, will include a visit to an observation deck on a top floor of Tower 2 and a meal at the Malaysian Petroleum Club (MPC) within Tower 2.

Fees for the packages will start from as low as RM3 per person for the basic Skybridge tour to RM350 per person for the premium package, it said, adding that the premium package will also include a fine dining experience at the exclusive, members-only MPC, almost half-way up the world's tallest twin towers.

The packages were introduced in support of the government's aspiration to realise the tourism potential of the Petronas Twin Towers and the attractions within their vicinity, such as the Suria KLCC Shopping Complex, the KLCC Park, Petrosains, Gallery Petronas, Aquaria and the Malaysian Philharmonic Petronas, the statement said.

These attractions would help position the towers as a premier tourism attraction enjoyed by other iconic buildings around the world, it added.

Petronas has plans to enhance the tour experiences of the buildings in the near future, including extending the visit operation hours, providing a more spacious viewing deck, and enhancing the Visitors Centre, ticketing facilities and other related visitor amenities.

Source : Bernama

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Tourism Malaysia targets MICE market

Tourism Malaysia is targeting the meeting, incentive, conference and events market after recording consistent growth in MICE visitor numbers in recent years. There were an estimated 1.18 million MICE arrivals in 2009, a 150% increase since the opening on the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in 2005.

For Australians, Malaysia’s state of the art facilities, value for money, close proximity and stability make it a popular choice. In the first six months of 2010, 2.7% of short term departures from Australia to Malaysia travelled for a conference or meeting, which was stable compared to the same period the previous year.

Kuala Lumpur has also recently leaped five spots to the 22nd position in the latest ICCA International Congress and Convention Association city rankings while Malaysia moved up one position to 32nd in the country rankings.

With a booming industry, product development in Malaysia has been significant. In 2010 no less than five new luxury resort developments will open with a total of 270 rooms. An additional 14 new resorts are planned before 2014.

Shahrin Mokhtar, director Tourism Malaysia Sydney says that Malaysia has maintained its position as a premier MICE destination in what was a challenging time for the overall industry. “Malaysia has been able to capitalise on conference organisers looking for destinations that offer value for money, are close to Australia and still offer attractions with a point of difference,” he said.

Malaysia is consistently ranked as one of the world’s best value for money destinations. This year Malaysia was listed as one of the best value destinations in the world by Lonely Planet and in 2009 Malaysia ranked as the 4th most price competitive country in the world according to the Travel and Tourism Competitive index by the World Economic Forum.

Malaysia has a growing number of venue options for small to large conventions including two well developed conference hubs in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre opened in 2005 and the Borneo Convention Centre in Kuching opened in 2009.

“Malaysia’s conference hubs are conveniently located in areas with plenty of air capacity and also within easy reach of Malaysia’s amazing tourism attractions. Malaysia offers a huge variety of pre and post touring options. From climbing South East Asia’s tallest mountain in the UNESCO World Heritage Kinabalu National Park, taking the head hunters trail through beautiful Borneo, volunteering in an orang utang or turtle sanctuary or just relaxing in five star luxury along Malaysia beautiful beaches,” said Shahrin.

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Tourism Malaysia Makes Strong Pitch In Frankfurt For MM2H Programme

Tourism Malaysia, which is making a big push for its Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) Programme to Europeans, made a strong pitch at a seminar in Frankfurt Monday night for the MM2H programme before a large German audience that included not only retired pensioners but also business entrepreneurs, government officials, professionals and others under 50, some of whom had come from as far as Switzerland.

Tourism Malaysia's Frankfurt-based director Syed Yahya Syed Othman explained the merits of the MM2H programme and its special appeal for Germans. He said this was the first seminar of its kind to be held in Germany. Syed Yahya played up Malaysia as an attractive destination, pointing out that it had been voted as the best long-stay destination in the top 20 list of retirement destinations by International Living.com magazine.

The reasons for this distinction include its value-for-money factor, location in Asia, tropical climate, well-developed infrastructure, wide use of English, educational and healthcare facilities, security, and variety of housing options available.

"Germany is the second largest source of participants, after the United Kingdom, in the MM2H programme," Syed Yahya said in an interview with Bernama as he highlighted the significance of Germany for the MM2H programme.

According to data from Tourism Malaysia, the total number of participants from around the globe in the MM2H programme is currently 14,358. The UK, with 1,750 participants, was the leading source of participants in the programme, followed by second-ranking Germany (192 participants), the Netherlands (182), France (108), Switzerland ((77) and Belgium (31).

Syed Yahya was supported by a group that had arrived from the Kuala Lumpur headquarters to answer MM2H-related questions. Dayang Balkis Ramli, the assistant director from the MM2H Centre at the Tourism Malaysia headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, was accompanied by two licensed agents, Hosanna MM2H Sdn Bhd of Petaling Jaya, and Optimal Home International of Kuala Lumpur, that offer specialised services to participants in the MM2H programme. "By licensing such agents whose performance is reviewed each year, the Malaysian Government becomes actively involved and thus ensures that the MM2H participants get the right services for which they pay," Dayang Balkis told Bernama.

However, some of the Germans seemed unsure of whether the MM2H provided them with adequate safeguards in their old age when participants want a hassle-free retirement devoid of any red-tape entanglement. The 10-year validity of the social pass that each MM2H participant would be getting seemed to dampen the spirits of some Germans who preferred, instead, to have a permanent resident status, as granted by some countries.

"The MM2H assumes that the 10-year life of the pass would satisfy the participants, many of whom find it restrictive. I have visited Malaysia and am impressed by its scenic beauty and level of development. I believe that Malaysia would benefit even more if it issued, instead, a permanent resident status to MM2H participants. After all, the Malaysian Government is, basically, interested in attracting capital from Germany and other countries, even though this will be deposited in Malaysian banks," an elderly German participant told Bernama.

The permanent resident status would, also, attract business people and others with professional skills who would help Malaysia's future development and catapult it to become Southeast Asia's leading economic power.

Keeping this in mind, Tourism Malaysia in Frankfurt sought the assistance of the Frankfurt-based German-Asian Business Circle, whose president Bodo Krueger was also present at the seminar, and the Japanese-German Business Group. Both these organisations had urged their members to participate in the seminar which was well-attended. According to Syed Yahya, there are some 300 German companies present in Malaysia, of which 70 operate plants.

Dayang Balkis said she discerned some "serious enquiries" from the participants in Frankfurt. "Many of the people said they would like to go to Malaysia and see for themselves the facilities available there. Indeed, I have been asked by some of the participants to organise a similar seminar in their company premises for those who are about to retire," she claimed.

The delegation, along with some staff members of Tourism Malaysia in Frankfurt, departed Tuesday for Stuttgart where they are organising a similar seminar.

Source : Bernama

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AirAsia X optimistic over Tokyo route in December

Long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X will fly to Japan in December, with three non-stop flights a week from KL International Airport to Haneda in Tokyo.

Chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani said considering its status as the world’s largest metro­politan city, Tokyo was an important feeder market for the airline to move into the growing international network.

“The three weekly flights will strengthen our historic business and tourism links with Japan’s commercial centre,” he said.

Azran said he estimated that more than 60% of the passengers between Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo would be first-time visitors, adding that new market segments could be created from the tourism growth.

To mark its new destination, Air Asia X is offering promotional fares for a one-way ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo from as low as RM99. The tickets will be available from Sept 23 to Sept 26 for travel period Dec 9 to Jul 31, 2011.

The seats are offered on a first-come, first-served basis and tickets are only available online via www.airasia.com and mobile.airasia.com.

Passengers will travel in a brand new A330 aircraft with standard business class “Premium Flat Bed” seats that feature universal power sockets, adjustable headrests and built-in personal utilities, such as tray table, drink holder, reading light and privacy screen.

AirASia X currently flies to destinations in Australia, India, Taiwan, China, Europe and Korea.

Source : STAR

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Tourism industry to raise GNI to RM104bil by 2020

The tourism industry aims to raise its contribution to the Gross National Income (GNI) to RM104bil by 2020 through 12 entry point projects (EPPs) and new business opportunities.

This would require the sector to raise its annual contribution by RM67bil, tripling its GNI from RM37bil in 2009.

At the Economic Transformation Programme Open Day, the National Key Economic Area laboratory on tourism disclosed the 12 EPPs which are expected to deliver RM28.4bil and three business opportunities that would deliver RM28.6bil in incremental GNI.

Declaring Malaysia as a global biodiversity hub and positioning the country as a duty-free shopping destination for tourist goods are among the EPPs expected to deliver significant results in the industry within a 10-year time frame.

The other EPPs are developing the world’s first eco-nature integrated resort in Sabah, designating KLCC-Bukit Bintang as a vibrant shopping precinct and establishing three new premium outlets in Malaysia.

There are also plans to create a Straits Riviera, targeting more international events, establishing dedicated entertainment zones, developing local expertise and better regulating the spa industry, establishing Malaysia as a leading business tourism destination, improving rates, mix and quality of hotels and enhancing connectivity to priority medium-haul markets.

A total of RM204bil in funding would be required over the next 10 years to achieve these aspirations. Of this funding, only 2% is expected to come from the public sector.

Malaysia’s growth in tourism has mostly relied on growth in arrivals rather than yield: 75% of growth has been from increased arrivals and 25% from increased yield.

The laboratory on retail also proposed the setting up of 21 1Malaysia malls in emerging markets overseas by 2020, starting with Vietnam, to expand local retailers abroad

Source : STAR

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Malaysia International Gourmet Festival back in town for 10th time

The Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) to start on Oct 1, will feature an excotic variety of local and international cuisine from Malaysia and other countries.

The annual festival held since 2001 is aimed at promoting Malaysia's fine dining on the world food tourism map and participated by 30 local restaurants located in five-star hotels and stand alone restaurants in the city.

Apart from authentic local cuisine, various international cuisines including Lebanese, Japanese, Swiss, Chinese, Italian, French, Thai, Indian, European and continental food would also be served.

Before the launch of the MIGF, Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen and a group of chefs were flown in by five helicopters, courtesy of Eurocopter, and landed at Dataran Merdeka before proceeding to Restaurant Warisan, the venue of the launch.

During the festival, each restaurant will serve special menus at special prices, besides offering other promotions.

Speaking to reporters after the launch, Dr Ng said MIGF which is part of the ministry's three tier "Fabulous Food 1Malaysia" initiative, is hoped to elevate and popularize Malaysian cuisine at the international stage.

Apart from fabulous beaches, shopping complexes, authentic food from the various races in the country is also seen as a tourism product with the potential to attract tourists.

"The Ministry wants to raise the status of Malaysian cuisine because we want Malaysian food to be served at exclusive restaurants to attract tourists," she said.

She said last year tourists spent RM1 billion in a week and hoped tourists would spend more through the launching of MIGF.

Among the participants of this year's festival are The Olive from Maxims Genting, Seasonal Tastes from the Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa, restaurants like Al-Amar, Celadon, China Treasures, Neo Tamarind, Tamarind Springs, High Tidem Nerovivo and Vansh.

Also in the list are Chynna, Iketeru and Senses from Hilton KL, Lai Po Heen and Mandarin Grill (Mandarin Oriental), Lafite, Shang Palace, Zipangu (Shangri-la), Dynasty, Med@Marche-Live, Sagano (Renaissance), Sheraton Imperial's Villa Danielli, Equatorial's Chalet, Grand Millennium's Zing, The Royal Chulan's Bunga Emas and L'Heritage, Holiday Inn Glenmarie's Fu-Rin, The Club at The Saujana's The Restaurant, Doubletree's Makan Kitchen have also joined the MIGF.

Source : MalayMail

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AirAsia X opens tickets to Tokyo from next week

Airline will be first foreign low-cost carrier serving Haneda airport from Dec 9

AirAsia X will begin flights to Haneda airport in Tokyo on Dec 9 and open ticket sales for the sector next week.

The airline plans to mount three weekly flights and it will be the first foreign low-cost carrier serving the airport that is expected to open for international flights in late October.

Asashi newspaper in Japan reported that AirAsia X was expected to price fares far lower than those charged for existing services between the capitals of Japan and Malaysia offered by Japan Airlines and Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani declined to reveal any pricing when contacted yesterday by StarBiz. But the market is abuzz with talk that the introductory price could range from RM99 to RM199.

Azran said that flying to Tokyo would be “super exciting as finally people will have choices and low fares to go to great places.’’

Three flights per week may be too few for AirAsia X but for now the airline does not have much of a choice.

It is learnt that the Japanese authorities had accorded seven rights and the Malaysian authorities awarded three each to AirAsia X and MAS, and one to Transmile.

“Japan is a high fixed cost city and with so few flights it would be difficult to make the sector sustainable so we will have to convince the authorities to grant us daily flights,” Azran said.

MAS will introduce three flights a week between Kota Kinabalu and Haneda from Nov 15.

Haneda airport is the main domestic hub for Tokyo but due to congestion in Narita, it will start receiving international flights next month. Haneda is just a 20-minute monorail or cab ride from downtown Tokyo whereas Narita is at least an hour’s train ride, and the trip can take over two hours by car on clogged roads.

To beat potential competition from six foreign low-cost carriers from China and South-East Asia, both Japanese carriers – Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways (ANA) – want to set up low-cost airlines.

ANA has inked a deal with Hong Kong’s First Eastern Investment Group to set up a new airline that will start operations in the second half of 2011. ANA will own 39% in the venture and Far Eastern 33%. The balance equity will be sold to other investors.

Source : Star

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