Capitalising on Sarawak’s tourism opportunities.

26th March, 2013

Capitalising on Sarawak’s tourism opportunities.

KUCHING: For Sarawak to succeed in providing new tourism opportunities in order to attract more travellers and reach its target, it will have to resolve the issue of air connectivity. In its 2012 report on the state, Inside Investors highlighted that the Sarawak government and its Sabah counterpart were in agreement with Malaysia Airlines Systems Bhd (MAS) subsidiary MASwings to be East Malaysia’s own airline.

The latest developments indicated that this was the right decision. With added air capacity, the state could evolve into a tourism destination of choice for people who were not necessarily looking for the usual mass treatment but more for adventure, nature, cultural heritage and festivals.

Sarawak has recently found a niche in the so called musical tourism by staging several events the most famous of which were the Rainforest World Music Festival and the Miri International Jazz Festival. Both events are big draws for people who otherwise will probably bypass Sarawak compared to other tourism destinations.

“One other area is eco-tourism, which is part of the state’s development plan for the tourism sector. The government has indicated that all industry players will have to be responsive to the new plan, as it aims to create Sarawak’s own niche market to make its tourism offers more attractive,” Inside Investors enthused.

Meetings, incentives conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector is also gaining traction. This form of tourism in Sarawak could be easily related to projects in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), an area in which the Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB) was focusing on. As far as the conferences related to SCORE, there would be, for example, the upcoming Hydropower Association conference in Kuching in May.

The government would use this as a platform to showcase how they could move forward in terms of hydropower utilisation and related technologies. All the events around SCORE offer a perfect opportunity for stakeholders to network with others who were also active in sub-sector business.

The Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) responsible for the conventional tourism, hopes to see more funds allocated for the tourism sector in the future. Under the Tenth Malaysia Plan, the state government had allocated a five year RM30 million fund to cover all tourism activities as well as its operation costs to the board, which made RM6 million a year.

This was however deemed too low by STB which meant that funds need to be raised from private investors to ensure the tourism industry stays on track.

By: Jonathan Wong, jonathanwong@theborneopost.com

Copyright@2010-2013 BorneoPost Online

Tourism Malaysia's New Frankfurt Director To Reach Out To Consumers.

26th March, 2013

Tourism Malaysia's New Frankfurt Director To Reach Out To Consumers.

FRANKFURT - Tourism Malaysia's new Frankfurt director will not only reach out to the tourism and travel trade but also directly communicate with the German consumers through a reach-out strategy that aims to add to the shine of Malaysia's image as an attractive tourist destination.

Maizan Ahmad, who assumed the post of director of Tourism Malaysia's Frankfurt office just two months back, said she would not just promote business-to-business contacts but also sharpen the consumer awareness about Malaysia's attributes as an attractive destination that would especially appeal to German tourists.

"It is equally important to directly communicate with the German consumers who are known to be passionate about foreign travel, and experience new lands and cultures," Maizan said in an interview with Bernama.

German tourists spent a mind-boggling 65 billion Euros (about RM262.3 billion) during 2012 on travel and tourism-related activities, according to Maizan.

"German tourists are among the world's top spending-tourists. Indeed, travel is an important part of a German's life. Germans are trend-setters. But Germany is also a challenging market. There has been a shift in the ranking of Germany which was until a couple of years back the second highest source of tourism traffic to Malaysia, behind the UK, in Europe. Meanwhile, Germany has been overtaken by France in terms of tourist arrivals in Malaysia ... while 131,277 German tourists were clocked in Malaysia in 2012, we received 136,172 French tourists visited Malaysia in the same year.

"In 2011, we had 124,670 German tourists visiting Malaysia compared with 127,980 French tourists," Maizan said. "One possible reason for the surge in French traffic could be the air connectivity. AirAsia operated a daily flight to Paris until early 2012, in addition to the daily flight operated by Malaysia Airlines," she explained adding that in contrast, MAS operates only five flights a week to Frankfurt.

"Consequently, our strategy is to also work with foreign airlines which operate flights to Malaysia through their hubs, even though these are not direct flights which German tourists usually prefer to take," she said.

But she is also planning to intensify contacts with German tour and travel operators and also going to break into a niche segment -- the upper-market segment -- in the area of luxury travel and lifestyle.

Also on the cards are several events planned in Germany in connection with the Visit Malaysia Year 2014, which would include organising familiarisation tours for travel and tour operators as well as the media.

By: Manik Mehta

Copyright@BERNAMA

Malaysians spread wings to new destinations.

25th March, 2013

Malaysians spread wings to new destinations.

Malaysians are taking advantage of new air links to explore a broader range of tourist destinations, a new study of online bookings has shown.

Travel search site Wego looked at the behaviour of 100,000 travellers using the company’s Malaysian site, www.wego.co.my. The results found that Malaysians searched for 2,500 flight destinations in 2012 – 900 more than in 2011. This trend was matched in terms of accommodation searches, with a rise of 400 hotel destinations taking the total to almost 2,000.

And while Wego noted that regional hubs such as Bangkok, Jakarta, Taipei and Singapore are still most popular, Malaysians appear to be developing an appetite for new destinations, driven by the proliferation of new low-cost air routes being launched from Kuala Lumpur.

“Users are constantly finding new routes with AirAsia, Jetstar, Malindo Air and other carriers which soon become popular, especially if they are seen to be affordable,” said Dean Wicks, Wego’s Chief Marketing Officer. “It’s driving a shift away from the traditional selections of Bali and Phuket in favour of destinations like Bandung, a favourite weekend retreat with Jakarta residents, Hat Yai, Macau and Perth.”

Only a quarter of flight searches on www.wego.com.my are domestic, with Langkawi and Kota Kinabalu trending up, according to Wego, along with Penang and Johor Bahru. And Wicks said he expects Malaysians to expand their horizons further in future, as airlines continued to add new routes.

“AirAsia’s push into India with Chennai as the hub, Malaysia Airlines joining oneworld and teaming up with partners Cathay Pacific, British Airways and Qantas will change the mix again, especially on the mid- to long-haul. Istanbul, for example is another destination gaining share of our Malaysian users’ attention,” he said.

Malaysians are also now moving more up-market. A record 16% searched for five-star properties in 2012, up from less 14% in 2011.

By: Mark Elliott

Copyright@www.traveldailymedia.com

Cycling packages helping to promote local products too.

25th March, 2013

Cycling packages helping to promote local products too.

RAUB: The cycling packages introduced by the Tourism Ministry have helped to highlight locals products besides boosting domestic tourism, said minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

“In Felda Tersang, there are local fruits like buah saga and the various colours of bunga raya; some of the things which city folks may not even know exist,” she said. “The settlers, too, were not familiar with them. But after they took part in the cycling programme, they came to know about these during their stops,” she added.

Dr Ng said the making of parang had also long existed in Felda Tersang but some settlers knew about it only through the cycling trips. “The cycling packages we launched last year have proven to be one of the most popular tourism packages for locals and foreigners.

“We have expanded the packages into the Felda settlements. We started it in Felda Tersang which is some 45km from Raub town,” she said after taking part in the 10km Kayuhan Sihat@ Tersang held at Felda Tersang Satu here yesterday.

Dr Ng said also said that her ministry had funded the upgrade of fishing ponds in Felda Tersang so that these would become more attractive to visitors, joggers and cyclists. “Soon their surface will be full of teratai flowers and the landscaping will be enhanced too,” she said.

 Copyright@1995-2012 Star Publications (M) Bhd

Asian arrivals helping set new Umrah record.

23^rd March, 2013

Asian arrivals helping set new Umrah record.

Jeddah - A large number of Umrah pilgrims arriving from Asian countries this week are about to set a new record. The Ministry of Haj has indicated that more than 6 million pilgrims are likely to come for Umrah this year, up from 5.5 million last year. Hotels in Makkah have a capacity of 1.4 million pilgrims a month.

The season opened on Dec. 14 last year, and will close on Aug. 22.

Airlines operating flights to Jeddah are reportedly fully booked for Umrah pilgrims and as a result expatriates in the Kingdom are finding it difficult to get seats. Almost all airlines have raised airfares to Jeddah by nearly 25 percent, according to figures posted by various airlines.

Despite recent efforts by the government to streamline the procedure at airports, some Umrah operators are not following procedures. This year, the ministry announced a new system for foreign travel agents to provide contract details of pilgrims. Pilgrims, however, are arriving without stickers containing that information on their passports.

Pilgrims are also complaining that upon arrival they are clueless about their Umrah companies or tour operators. “This is continuing to result in chaos, ” said one pilgrim as he arrived at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

The ministry insists that Umrah companies provide proper accommodations and transport for pilgrims. Over 200 Umrah companies were closed down for violating regulations.

The post-Umrah tourism packages are currently only for pilgrims from the US, Europe, Malaysia and Singapore and a few other countries. Meanwhile, costs of Umrah packages are rising in Pakistan, India and Turkey.

By: Irfan Mohammed

Copyright@arabnews.com

Malaysians ride to Europe on weak Euro.

22^nd March, 2013

Malaysians ride to Europe on weak Euro.

ESCORTED tours to Europe are seeing healthy growth in demand from the Malaysian market, partly due to the depreciation of the euro and US dollar against the Ringgit.

Insight Vacations reported a 25 per cent year-on-year spike in bookings for Europe for the January to March 2013 period. Insight Vacations regional director, Asia, Sheryl Lim, said: “When the euro and US dollar were strong against the ringgit, an eight- to 10-day tour to Europe would cost about RM10,000 (US$3,207). Now, one can take a 12- to 14-day tour at the same cost.”

According to Lim, popular destinations are Italy, Britain, and a combination of Spain and Portugal. Mature Malaysian travellers are now eyeing Eastern Europe destinations such Croatia and Poland. Destinations such as the Balkans, which were less popular in the past, have also seen a five to eight per cent year-on-year increase in the first quarter of 2013, and this upward trend is expected to continue through to 2014.

Likewise, Sedunia Travel’s marketing & community manager, e-commerce division, Hannah Pearson, said her company’s upcoming Cosmos multi-destination holidays for the summer season to eastern European cities of Prague, Vienna and Budapest had been well received by the Malaysian public. Also hot were eight-day itineraries combining Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France.

By: S Puvaneswary, Kuala Lumpur

Copyright@TTG Asia Media Pte Ltd © 2013

2,000 hotel bookings cancelled.

22^nd March, 2013

2,000 hotel bookings cancelled.

Sandakan: About 2,000 rooms that were booked online with the various hotels here were cancelled following the Suluk terrorist intrusion in Lahad Datu and Semporna recently. It is feared that the situation would lead to the closure of many businesses.

A newly-opened international-class hotel suffered a great loss when 600 guest rooms booked by foreign tourists over the next few months were cancelled.

Tourism industry player, Datuk John Lim Shau Ket, also revealed that renowned local hotels here incurred huge losses when about 90 arrangements were cancelled within one day on March 6. "The misleading information disseminated (by foreign countries) contributed to this phenomenon," he said.

Foreign tourists, he said, were given travel advisory by their respective governments that the East Coast of Sabah had turned into a battlefield. "But the hotspot is actually about 200km from here," he said.

He urged the Federal Tourism Ministry to negotiate with countries that imposed travel advisories through Malaysia's diplomats to lift the ban. "They must explain to the foreign tourists the actual situation here. Especially the hotspot in Felda Sahabat, which is well under control by our security forces," he said.

He said even the inbound tours here were badly affected with similar cancellations the past few weeks. The former Sabah Tourism Board Director said a committee co-named as Sandakan Tourism Association (STA), of which he is protem chairman, has been set up to monitor the situation.

Meanwhile, former Sandakan Municipal Council deputy president, Thomas Lau Chi Keong, said the participation of government departments is vital to stop the rumours that were created by irresponsible elements, including by the media in the Philippines. Lau said that by ceasing business operations, it would only create panic among the public. "We must have confidence in our security forces," he said, adding that his cafŽ business dropped by 50 per cent. Lau advised the people to verify the information they received by checking with the police.

Copyright@2013 Sabah Publishing House Sdn. Bhd

International Sporting Events Help Boost Sports Tourism In Malaysia.

24^th March, 2013

International Sporting Events Help Boost Sports Tourism In Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR - Successful international sporting events undoubtedly lead Malaysia towards development in the sports tourism sector, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. He said such events not only benefited one area of economy, but it also drives investment in other sectors such as hospitality, retail, trade and industries.

"In such international events like the Maybank Malaysian Open Golf Championship, it is a chance for Malaysia to show the world that we have the facilities and expertise to organise world class events," he said in his speech at the Maybank Malaysian Open Golf Championship 2013 prize giving ceremony at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, here, Sunday.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin noted that the initiative by Maybank and Malaysia Golf Association (MGA) to develop the talent of young people and teach them skills that needed to succeed are vital in ensuring our country continues to be on the world stage.

He also congratulated Thailand's rising star Kiradech Aphibarnrat who won the Maybank Malaysian Open 2013 title today and also Malaysia's top ranked amateur Gavin Kyle Green who finished as the best Malaysian player.

Copyright@BERNAMA