Date: 25 February 2013
UK tourist arrivals may hit 450,000 this year
MALAYSIA is projecting 450,000 tourist arrivals from Britain
this year, surpassing 2010's 429,900 arrivals. However, over the past two
years, tourist arrivals from Britain have declined slightly due to the
discouraging economic conditions in the country and the European Union.
Last year, there were 402,207 tourists from Britain while in
2011, there were 403,140 arrivals. Despite that, for both years, the UK was
still among the top 10 tourist generating markets for Malaysia.
Malaysian High Commissioner to Britain Datuk Seri Zakaria
Sulong said despite Britain's lacklustre economic growth, its currency is still
very strong. "The British can stretch the pound by visiting
Malaysia," he said.
Zakaria said this year's growth in tourist arrivals is
expected to be driven by Malaysia Airlines' (MAS) A380 aircraft, exciting tour
packages offered by private operators, as well as the ongoing promotions by
Tourism Malaysia. "The deployment of the A380 aircraft for the 12-hour
non-stop flight between KL and London will contribute to more tourists visiting
Malaysia. This is because for long-haul flights, passengers prefer comfort. MAS
is the only non-stop direct flight from London to KL," he said when met in
London recently.
MAS started two A380 flights a day for the KL-London-KL
route from November 24 last year. The superjumbo passenger jet, which can carry
494 passengers, has higher fuel efficiency, the lowest environmental impact and
a more comfortable cabin.
Zakaria said tour operators play an important role in
attracting tourists to Malaysia, citing the honeymoon packages initiated by the
private sector. He said the media from the UK are also brought to Malaysia to
familiarise themselves with new tourism products.
"We also promote luxury holidays in Malaysia, weddings
and homestay programmes," he said, adding that the Malaysia My Second Home
scheme has also been successful in attracting the British people to live in
Malaysia.
He noted that the quality of life in Malaysia, which is at
par with Britain, the good exchange rate, excellent infrastructure and
all-year-round sunny weather are among factors that have attracted British
citizens to Malaysia under the scheme.
"The upmarket hotels in Malaysia are popular with the
British people. We had a lot of repeat visitors. We also target military
veterans and retired civil servants who've done their service in Malaya. They
usually come with their families," he added.
Various events held in the UK by Tourism Malaysia and
Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation have also helped to promote
Malaysia to people in the UK. These include the Malaysia Kitchen Programme,
Malaysia Night and Malaysian Spice Kitchen.
By Hamisah Hamid
Copyright © 2011 The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia)
Berhad
No comments:
Post a Comment