Tourism Malaysia Intensifies Promotional Campaign To Lure Indonesian Tourists

JAKARTA, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- Tourism Malaysia is intensifying its promotional campaign here in a bid to lure more Indonesian tourists to visit Malaysia.

Its deputy director in Indonesia Norlizah Jahaya said the campaign was promoting, among others, Malaysia's world-class shopping centres, real estate under the Malaysia My Second Home programme, Meeting, Incentive, Convention and exhibition (MICE) activities, as well as annual event such as Formula One Grand Prix, shoe festival, mega sales and golf tournaments.

She said other activities like travel fairs and travel marts were also being held in major cities namely Jakarta, Surabaya and Semarang, which were connected via direct flights from Kuala Lumpur or Penang.

Apart from that, she said such a promotional activity was also being held at selected elite and international schools.

"Tourism Malaysia in Indonesia is using various approaches in promoting Malaysia as a tourist destination, including by forging a smart partnership with an international bank, which has registered 1.7 million credit card holders, in a bid to reach out to the targeted group," she said.

Norlizah said the effort to promote Malaysia's popular tourist destinations would also be carried out during several major events in the republic, such as the Java Jazz Festival 2012 scheduled to be held in here from March 2 to 4.

A special booth will also be set up to sell Malaysia's popular breakfast "roti canai" and "teh tarik" during the festival, she said.

Indonesia is the second largest tourism market for Malaysia after Singapore.

Tourism Malaysia director in Indonesia Jamil Darus, had on Thursday, organised a special programme, dubbed "Travex" in Balik Papan, East Kalimantan, to introduce 13 Malaysian hotel operators and travel agencies to 60 Indonesian travel agencies from Balik Papan and Samarinda.

At the same time, a tourism seminar for Indonesian media and travel agaencies was also held at the Malaysian Embassy here to promote luxury holidays to Taaras Beach and Spa Resort, in Redang Island, Terengganu, and The Cheteau, Spa and Organic Wellness Resort and Colmar Tropicale, in Bukit Tinggi, Pahang.

Australia: Get Chinese Tourist

JAMES Packer has called on the Gillard government and industry to show more aggression in shaking up the nation's troubled $34 billion tourism sector so that it can tap the "massive opportunity" offered by the rise of China's middle class.

The billionaire chairman of gaming company Crown said investment in large-scale tourist attractions in Australia had been "modest" at best, and a more comprehensive strategy was now needed to tap the lucrative tourist market of the rising Asian tigers.

Quote: Clifton Fadiman

“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.”

MAS, AirAsia told to restore suspended flights

Hoping to overcome declining arrivals figures, Malaysia’s tourism leaders said plans are underwear to urge Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia X to restore suspended international and regional services.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said suspension of services could cause a major decline for the industry, losing billions in revenue, Berita Wilaya reported.

"This is because each foreign tourist will spend between RM1,000 and RM4,000 depending on their country of origin," she explained to media.

Although Dr Ng said she was keen to see all suspended flights back in the air, ultimately the decision lay with the two carriers.

"We cannot do anything as this is their business decision and they must have their own plans and strategies, but we will work harder to encourage and persuade both MAS and AirAsia X to resume the suspended flights," she added.

Among the suspended flights include AirAsia X’s Mumbai to New Dehli, Paris and London, as well as Kora Kinabalu to Osaka and Malaysia Airlines’ Kuala Lumpur to Surabaya, Johannesburg and Rome.

Comment: AirAsia / MAS would think of their profitability first. :)

Travel Warnings for Thailand

BANGKOK, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul disclosed Thursday that a total of 14 countries and regions had issued travel warnings for Thailand after three bomb blasts rocked the commercial district of Bangkok on Tuesday.

This group of countries and regions include Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, New Zealand, Italy, Norway, Israel and China's Taiwan. On Wednesday, there were only 10 countries issuing the warnings.

It is believed that the travel warnings will soon be lifted as the suspects have been apprehended. In addition, the Foreign Ministry has given instructions to relevant officials to keep foreign embassies in Thailand up to date with the latest situation to ensure a speedy revocation of the warnings, according to Surapong.

Three explosions occurred Tuesday afternoon in the business area of Sukhumvit road, hurting five people including one suspect. Two suspects with Iranian passports were arrested after the bombings while the third suspect who managed to flee to Malaysia on a flight was finally nabbed by Malaysian authorities in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. An arrest warrant was also issued for a female suspect who had allegedly arranged house rental for those three suspects.

Meanwhile, Iranian authorities have issued an announcement condemning the terrorists while denying that they were citizens of Iran.

Bangalore to Malaysia for weddings and honeymoons

While people from West are coming to India to get married in ‘desi’ style, many Indians want to get married in Malaysia which witnessed 30 to 40 weddings in 2011.

Last November, Malaysia witnessed the largest wedding and the families were from Bangalore.
“In recent times, Malaysia has become a luxury travel destination for weddings and honeymoons. We’ve had close to 40 weddings in the country in 2011,” said Manoharan, director of Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board. He was speaking at a road show held recently in Bangalore to promote Malaysia.

Seeing this trend, the government of Malaysia has started service for this niche sector. “We’ve groups in hotels and resorts who are trained in Indian weddings. They help in decors, dress, mock trials and other rituals. We’ve trained them specifically for these sectors,” he said.

The country’s beach resorts are the choice for many weddings.
“Since they take packages for four or six days, the flight operators, along with hotels owners, give them a big discount for a wedding with 200 to 300 guests. A small wedding in Malaysia costs about Rs50lakh in all,” said Mohd Izal bin Mahd Nor, director of Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board.

Calling it a great way to bond, he said: “When a wedding is held in your own country, the guests come, wish the couple, have their meal and leave. But when it is held abroad, they are together for four days and nights, having all three meals together and partying and shopping together. They also bond well. The family comes closer.”

However, the wedding organisers prefer to take some of the ingredients to Malaysia as they want to have authentic preparations for the weddings.

“Even though we’ve a large number of Indians in our country, many prefer to get spices from here. We encourage that as we want to serve them better. The largest wedding held in Malaysia so far was in November last year and that was from Bangalore,” Manoharan said.
There are over 14 flights from Bangalore and over 32 flights from other south Indian cities to Malaysia.

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