Women-Only Waterfall Planned For Terengganu

A conservative Malaysian state will establish a waterfall site exclusively for women to picnic and bathe, to attract Middle Eastern tourists to holiday there, a report said.

Terengganu state's chief minister said the initiative was prompted by requests from Middle Eastern countries, whose strict Islamic practices prohibit women from bathing in the presence of men.

'We are still looking for the appropriate site. Only women can patronise that area, no men would be allowed,' Mr Ahmad Said told the Star daily on Friday.

'Tourists from certain West Asian countries are also keen for us to establish an exclusive picnic site for women,' he said.

The state on Malaysia's east coast, lapped by the waters of the South China Sea, is a popular tourist destination for its white sand beaches, turtle sanctuaries and waterfall sites.

Muslim Malaysians, who make up the majority of the multi-ethnic population, often swim at the beach or waterfalls, with women typically fully clothed in long pants and dark blouses.

Mr Ahmad said there were also plans to employ an all-women team to manage the site, including female security guards.

Malaysia's thriving tourism industry has seen a sharp rise in the number of big-spending tourists coming from the Middle East in recent years, attracted by the tropical country's Islamic image.

The tourism ministry is eyeing 400,000 tourists from Middle Eastern countries this year, state Bernama news agency reported citing tourism officials.

In 2007, Arab tourists contributed about US$500 million (S$676 million) to the total tourism revenue. (The Straits Times, Singapore)

***** To each his own.
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Indonesia Scurries To Fix Blunder In Tourism Campaign Slogan

A grammatical error in Indonesia's new 2008 tourism campaign - splashed across airplanes and television advertisements - is to be fixed, a tourism ministry official said Wednesday.

The new slogan of the "Visit Indonesia 2008" campaign reads: "Celebrating 100 years of nation's awakening." "Nation's", in correct English, should read either "national" or be preceded by a definite article.

The awkward phrase is already plastered across the flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia's A330 planes - which were inaugurated by the tourism minister Jero Wacik last week - and appears on websites and in a TV advertisement.

Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.

But an emailed message asking about the mistake received this response from Khrisnamurti, the ministry website's content administrator: "We have now been made fully aware of the English-language grammatical mistake in the VIY2008 logo and it will be rectified immediately."

The 1908 event referred to in the slogan was the founding by medical students of "Boedi Oetomo", or "Noble Endeavour," the first nationalist group in the then Dutch-ruled colony - a fact few foreigners would know.

Indonesia declared independence in 1945.

The campaign comes as Indonesia struggles to attract tourists relative to its Southeast Asian neighbours. The archipelago nation, which has endured a series of terror bombings, natural disasters and health scares, recorded a 2.38 per cent drop in foreign tourist arrivals to four million in 2006.

Neighbouring Malaysia attracted nearly 18 million the same year while Thailand lured nearly 14 million.

Indonesia boasts an array of attractions and varied cultures across its 17,000 islands, but the focal point of tourism remains the Hindu enclave of Bali. (THE AGE)

Tengku Adnan To UK To Find Out Why Tourists Not Coming. No Need To Go So Far, Just Read The Blogs

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor will leave for the United Kingdom on Nov 10 to find out why tourist arrivals from there have declined.

He said that he would also use the visit to study the tourism trend among the people there to draw up a strategy to attract more Britons to Malaysia.

"We also will be promoting Malaysia, especially eco-tourism in Borneo, Langkawi and Sipadan Island," he told reporters at the "The Best of Belgium 2007" event here tonight.

He said that although tourist arrivals from Europe had generally increased, the level was still unsatisfactory.

The event organised by the Belgian embassy in KL was to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Belgium and also to promote the European country's tourism products. (Bernama)

***** What's so difficult to understand about tourist numbers declining? Why should the hon. minister want to spend public funds and travel, wine, dine and lodge in 5-Star comfort in the UK when the answer can be found from the Internet?

One the one hand our government seems to go out of its way to prove its Islamic credentials while on the other it wishes to assiduously cultivate its friendly relations with the West. It grins sheepishly at the white boys while at the same time it attempts to outdo PAS in presenting an islamic face to the world or at least to that part of it which cares and nods in appreciation. In fact it has created an environment here for Malays to be less Malay and be more Arab than the Arab.

It has simultaneously and openly set the stage to deprive non-Muslims of their inalienable right to practise their faith unhindered and unmolested. The various widely publicized controversies on religious conversions lately is a case in point. The espousal by the government of the legally untenable arguments for the declaration that we are an Islamic state is yet another dampener for those who can read and write and think.

Regular displays of official muscle-flexing in the demolition of temples is another no-no indulged with glee by the authorities. The lethargic approach to fighting corruption and the inertia exhibited in dealing with over-zealous local officials like those in Rela and the khalwat-busters have further muddied an already sullied reputation.

Tengku Adnan himself has been implicated in several controversies, the latest being the 'Lingamgate' video clip imbroglio.

While the mainstream media have mostly glossed over the culpability of officialdom in many of these cases, the Internet media have explicitly described the true situation prevailing in this fair land of ours. The British are not deaf, blind and dumb. They know what is happening here and they don't like it. Therefore they give our country a miss during their travels in the region.

So YB Menteri, don't waste our money going on this junket. Stay home and read the blogs, if you secretly don't already.
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Tourism DG Says "Malaysia Among World's Safest Tourist Destinations." Is This Claim Still True?

Foreign tourists have no worry coming to Malaysia because the country is among the safest destinations in the world to visit, Tourism Malaysia Director-General Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab said, in a Bernama report.

He said the crime rate in Malaysia was still low compared to those in some developed countries in Europe like in Paris, France, where the rate was so high that people had to queue to lodge police reports.

He gave a scenario in Milan, Italy as an example where tourists who lost their luggage were approached by the thieves who demanded payment for the return of the baggage.

"Malaysia is a safe place where even a petty crime gets reported," he told reporters after opening the general meeting of the Association of Malaysian Bumiputera Adventure and Travel Companies (Bumitra) here today.

He was reacting to crime reports by the media, whether they would adversely affect promotions for the Visit Malaysia Year 2007.

***** At one time I would have agreed with the DG, but definitely not with the present spiralling crime rate in the country. Johor is a good example of this sorry state of affairs. In fact today's NST highlighted that the Johor police will take immediate interim measures, which include renting shoplots for new police stations, to beef up security in the city following public anger over recent violent gang rapes.

How often have generally patient Malaysians publicly expressed their dissatisfaction and anger at the authorities over increasing crime? Despite crime waves off and on, the people have always been calm and left it to the cops to perform their duties. But matters recently have come to a point that citizens have no choice but to openly express their ire at the lackadaisical attitude of those in power as well as the police for their masterly inaction in the midst of mayhem in many parts of our country.

But it looks like those in authority are more concerned with tourist arrivals than robbed, raped, maimed and murdered Malaysians!
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Tourism Malaysia's Latest Weapon - Amber Chia!

From Bernama comes this interesting piece of news.

Malaysian model Amber Chia will be the star attraction of a promotion by Tourism Malaysia in several north China cities this month.

The Ipoh-born pouty-lipped model has been engaged for catwalk shows in Beijing, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Harbin, Dalian and possibly Tianjin.

Michael Tay, Tourism Malaysia director here, said Chia will showcase designs by Malaysian fashion houses, Salabianca and Philosophy, including batik wear. "We are working together with Parkson department store which has outlets in these cities," he said.

The first show will be on June 22 at the latest Parkson department store in Beijing.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is expected to attend the event. He is arriving next week to open the new Tourism Malaysia office in Beijing and at Awana Beijing restaurant.

Tay said Tourism Malaysia has also prepared 60 lucky draw holiday packages and 30,000 orang utan soft toys for shoppers.

China is the fifth largest source of tourists for Malaysia with nearly 440,000 visiting last year.

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UNCTAD Praises Malaysia's Tourism Website. But Will They Praise The Tourism Minister?

The Malaysian government’s tourism website was described as a model of e-tourism by UNCTAD.

“One only needs to look at the Government of Malaysia's tourist website to appreciate the value and relevance of e-tourism for a modern economy,” United Nations Conference Trade and Development secretary general Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi said on Wednesday.

He said in many ways the website was a model with superb display of marketing information, graphics and designs directing visitors immediately to separate portals for consumers and business travels.

“Relevant information is available at one’s fingertips. This is the marvel of e-tourism, a dramatic demonstration of burgeoning partnership between technology and the travel industry,” he said when opening UNCTAD Conference on “Asia-Pacific; E-tourism for Growth.”

He said there were still challenges to meet in building e-tourism capacity at regional and local levels, for local communities and SME’s to be competitive in a globalised economy. He said E-tourism was largely responsible for the Asia-Pacific Region to have become one of the fastest growing areas for international tourist arrivals.

Tourism is expected to continue to grow in the future and China is set to become the number one destination by 2020, he said. “E-tourism accounts for a good part of its (China's) success,” he said.

He added that initiatives to promote and develop e-tourism among the various countries saw countries like Thailand reporting 150,000 hits on its booking websites with over 1,000 confirmed bookings monthly when they started in 2004.

Similarly Cambodia’s website saw 230,000 visits and one of its hotels reported that 70% of its revenue came from online bookings since they begun online bookings about three years ago, he said.

Vietnam’s website attracted 7.5mil users. (TheStar)

***** Good news indeed. Unfortunately while our e-tourism efforts must be lauded, the same cannot be said about the Minister-in-charge, the now notorious Tengku Adnan. By opening his mouth and spewing out ridiculous statements he has demeaned himself and by extension the government. He probably got several hundred thousand 'hits' of a different kind by bloggers and other Internet users over the past few days.

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Mighty Tourist Dollar - Even The U.S. Prepares To Shed Unfriendly Image.

The US government and private sector are launching a massive effort to reshape America's image for foreign visitors amid concerns that tightened security measures have made the country inhospitable.

The campaign comes as the number of visitors to the US is just getting back to the levels prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks, but with the US share of the multi trillion dollar global travel market shrinking.

Government and business leaders argue that the US needs to fix real and perceived barriers to foreign visitors or risk losing billions of dollars in tourism revenues.

US welcomed some 49 million international travelers in 2005, ranking third behind France and Spain, according to a report prepared for the Commerce Department. But even as global travel is increasing more people are choosing other destinations and the US market share has been on the decline.

"At a time when other countries have become better-funded, more coordinated and sophisticated in their efforts to attract international visitors, the US still lacks a national strategy to compete," said a study prepared by the US Commerce Department's Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.

"This situation puts the US at a distinct competitive disadvantage in efforts to attract world travel." The panel is seeking input for "a national strategy to compete for international visitors.
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Malaysia Voted Best Tourist Destination Of 2006 In Magazine Poll.

In what has come as a surprise to many in the US travel and tourism trade, Malaysia was voted the world's best tourism destination for 2006 by a prestigious US travel magazine.

This was the result of a poll conducted by Global Traveler magazine, a monthly published in Pennsylvania. The publication describes itself as a business travel magazine that "takes into account the sophisticated lifestyle interests of today's executive travelers". The magazine claims to have a paid circulation of 60,055.

The extensive poll, the third such annual survey conducted by Global Traveler magazine amongst its readers between Feb 1, 2006 and Aug 31, 2006, addressed open-ended questions for the best in 42 categories. A total of 13,653 completed questionnaires were received by the magazine from its readers. The questionnaires, stretching to a total of six pages, were made available as an insert in the subscriber copies of the magazine and online at the Global Traveler magazine's website.

A spokesperson of FXExpress, which publishes the magazine, told Bernama that only those questions where more than 50 per cent of the questions were completed were counted; those answering fewer than 50 per cent were rejected.

Responses were also screened to ensure that there was no duplication. Members of the travel industry and employees of FXExpress publications were not allowed to participate.

Survey respondents spent a mean number of 61 nights last year on international business trips and 76 nights on domestic business trips. They took an average of 18 international flights and 21 domestic flights per person during that period. Of all respondents, 76 per cent were male and 24 per cent were female, and average age was 45.

An elated Azizan Noordin, director (advertising) at the Tourism Malaysia headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, arrived here to receive the award which was given at the Jumeira Essex House in New York in the presence of a large gathering of airline representatives, tour and travel operators, tourism consultants and the media.

"Naturally, Tourism Malaysia is proud to receive the award which also confirms that our pre-publicity for the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 had been a success," he said in an interview with Bernama. Azizan was presented with a crystal plaque with a citation. "This award coincides not only with the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 but also with the 50th anniversary of our independence," he said. He described the award coming from a US-based magazine as a "big achievement". "Our media and advertising efforts are paying dividends now. The award is also a testimonial that Malaysia is now making a mark in the international arena," he added.

At the end of the award ceremony, Azizan was mobbed by many among the audience who congratulated him and Tourism Malaysia for the "spectacular success", as some kept saying.

What has surprised many tourism experts is that Malaysia, which seems to be ranking low in the consciousness of many potential tourists in this country, should have been selected, particularly because Southeast Asia has generally been negatively portrayed in the local media.

The region was plagued by the tsunami in Thailand and Indonesia, the coup d'etat in Thailand, volcanic eruptions and fundamentalism in Indonesia, and the haze that hung over Malaysia resulting from the fires in Indonesia. "People generally associate the entire region with problems ... it is therefore all the more remarkable that Malaysia could achieve such a resounding success despite these problems and was voted the best tourist destination," exclaimed John McKintosh, a Pennsylvanian travel consultant.

Runners-up to Malaysia were Singapore, Hong Kong, Italy, Indonesia (Bali), Hawaii, Thailand (Phuket), South Africa, Fiji and Australia.

In what is being viewed by many as yet another "feather in Malaysia's cap" is the rating given to Kuala Lumpur by the global financial services company UBS which has been evaluating the costs incurred by business travellers in a number of cities around the globe.

The latest UBS report has judged Kuala Lumpur as the "best bargain" on the planet.

UBS said that a business traveller would pay an average of US$260 for a hotel room, meals, transportation and entertainment. In comparison, Tokyo is the most expensive city and would cost the traveller US$1,090 a day. (Manik Mehta, Bernama)
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Colourful Launch For VMY 2007

The Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2007 was officially launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, here in an elaborate and colourful ceremony Saturday night.

The rain in the federal capital failed to dampen the spirit of the more than 20,000 visitors who had flocked the Taman Tasik Titiwangsa to witness the glittering event.

The event was launched exactly at 10 pm with a fireworks display which was greeted with loud cheers from the spectators who remained at the recreational park even when the rain turned heavier as soon as Abdullah completed the launch.

In his speech, the Prime Minister called on Malaysians to help make the programme a success by welcoming and treating the tourists in a friendly manner.

He also urged the people to promote the country to enable Malaysia to emerge as one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

Abdullah said Malaysia was prepared to hold the programme as it was confident that Malaysia had much attractions to offer the tourists.

"As proof, we have people of diverse ethnic groups who live happily and peacefully to bring progress to their country. These are assets that enrich our culture and are an attraction to the visitors," he said.

Abdullah said Malaysia was also fortunate because besides having beautiful natural environment, the country also had a good road and transportation network.

"We are proud when visitors have no difficulty in going to visit the scenic spots as there are good roads for a comfortable journey. We also have good land and air transport networks which give us an edge in wooing the tourists," he said.

Abdullah hoped that Malaysians would welcome and treat the tourists well as they were noted for their hospitality worldwide. "The people of Malaysia are wellknown for their courtesy, hospitality and friendliness. Let us prove that this is our identity and that we are very proud of it," he said.

The kind hospitality accorded by Malaysians to the foreign tourists could become an attraction to them to continue to visit Malaysia and invest in this country. "I believe many of them will want to invest and open up factories and so on, besides developing the tourism industry, this would also develop the country's economy," he said.

Abdullah said the country's tourism sector had received international recognition when more than 17 million tourists visited Malaysia last year and spent more than RM37 billion.

The Prime Minister also took the opportunity to try the "Ferris Wheel" which was opened for the first time in conjunction with the launch of the VMY 2007.

Besides the Ferris Wheel, VMY 2007 will also organise more than 240 events and activities in various locations throughout the country.

Among them are 50 major events which would begin with the Flora festival from Jan 20 to Feb 4.

What was more significant was that the launch of the VMY 2007, with the theme `Golden Jubilee Celebration", was also a double celebration to usher in the New year and to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the country's independence.

The VMY, which was first introduced in 1990 and held for the second time in 1994, had achieved memorable success and had achieved their objectives in promoting the country as one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

Various events have been drawn up for the VMY 2007 such as the Malaysian Flora Fest, Grand Prix F1, The World Rainforest Musical Festival (Sarawak) and the Mega Sales Carnival throughout the country.

Malaysia is targeting 20 million foreign tourists to come to the country in conjunction with the VMY 2007 and expects to reap RM45 billion in terms of tourist expenditure. (Bernama)

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Related report: 60,000-Plus Visitors Flock To Malaysia Daily

Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2007 - The Hoopla Begins

Minister Welcomes First Batch Of Visitors.

A group of Chinese visitors arrived at the KL International Airport here in the wee hours of the morning, making them the first group of travellers to Malaysia as the country's Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2007 gets underway.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor welcomed the passengers of China Eastern Airlines flight MU0539 from Pudong/Shanghai which landed at about 12.30am.

"On behalf of the government and people of Malaysia, it gives me a great pleasure to welcome our first group of visitors to Malaysia with a warm 'Selamat Datang' or 'Huan Yin', since this group comes from China," he said at a special welcoming reception.

Meanwhile, a Cebu Pacific Airlines plane from Manila touched down at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal at 12.35am.

VMY 2007, through which the country expects 20.1 million visitors and hopes to earn RM44.5 billion in foreign exchange, will be officially launched at the Taman Tasik Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 6.

The minister described Malaysia as a travel product "for all seasons all year round".

"Whether you come for our million-year-old untouched rainforests, pristine beaches and idyllic islands, culture and heritage, colourful festivals or for our multi-ethnic gastronomic experiences, we have what it takes to satisfy every interest and budget," he said.

Along with international-class hospitality services and shopping places, Malaysia is an ideal one-stop, short-haul holiday destination, he said in extolling the attractions of this multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation of 26 million people.

He said it was important for visitors to the country to know that Malaysians were by nature caring, peace-loving, hospitable and advocated moderation over extremism.

"The comfort and well-being of our guests and visitors have been and will always be of utmost priority in the long-standing Malaysian tradition of hospitality," he said. (Bernama)
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Related report: M'sians Celebrate New Year With Joy