Tourism Malaysia Office In Singapore To Get New Director

December 23, 2008 23:46 PM

By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, Dec 23 (Bernama) Tourism Malaysia's office in Singapore will be helmed by a new director comes new year.

Its Kuala Lumpur-based deputy director for West Asia, Zalizam Zakaria, will replace Rafidah Idris, the current director whose stint here has been more than four years.

The Singapore office this evening held a farewell and welcoming reception for Rafidah dan Zalizam respectively at a hotel here attended by representatives of the tour and travel industry.

In her farewell remarks, Rafidah said the number of Singapore visitors to Malaysia had been on the rise since the last four years and she expects the target of 10.6 million set by the office for this year to be achieved by year-end.

She said that up to last month, tourist arrivals into Malaysia from Singapore had already reached the 9.9 million mark.

Zalizam, 47, who hails from Kelantan, said he would have to work harder than his predecessor as Tourism Malaysia had set a new target for the office to bring in 11 million Singapore tourists to Malaysia for next year.

-- BERNAMA

Debate over Kelantan tourism promotion

Thursday November 22, 2007

TOURISM promotion was the focal point of yesterday's debate, with questions raised over whether efforts to lure tourists to Kelantan had been fruitful.

State Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Anuar Tan Abdullah (PAS-Kota Lama) accused state tourism action council chairman Ab Aziz Derashid (BN-Kuala Balah) of looking down on the state by making remarks to the media that insulted the committee.

Aziz, he added, told the media that he (Anuar) had carried out tourism promotion in a poor country like Morocco which was not true.

“The promotion was carried out in Dubai (UAE) and United Kingdom,” Anuar told the House.

He added that the state government had taken steps to double activities to attract more tourists to visit Kelantan.

Such activities were carried out through the tourism information centre (TIC) in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia 2007.

The committee also allocated funds to enhance cultural shows at Gelanggang Seni and organise events that involved other countries such as kite-flying and cock fighting competitions.

He said tourist arrivals had increased and as of August this year, a total 4.2 million people visited the state, including 1.2 million foreign tourists. For the entire 2006, there were 3.146 million tourists.

Earlier, Aziz hit out at Anuar, claiming he was not well-trained in tourism and advised him to heed advice and constructive criticism from others.

Aziz said the tourism action council was targeting 5.1 million visitors next year, adding that Kelantan had the potential to do better than Malacca if the state got her act together.

Source: The Star

State Governments Line Up Events For VMY'07

January 01, 2007 18:09 PM

PENANG, Jan 1 (Bernama) -- The new year, Monday also marked the start of the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 (VMY'07).

The VMY'07, which is expected to draw 20.1 million tourists and enrich the national coffer by RM44.5 billion through foreign exchange earnings, will be officially launched at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 6.

"At least 240 (national level) tourism events will be held across Malaysia in conjunction with the VMY'07," Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said in an interview at the KL International Airport (KLIA), where he was busy welcoming tourists into the country.

In Penang, Tourism Committee Chairman Cheang Chee Gooi said the Penang government will hold more than 50 events, including four international tourism events, throughout this year.

The four international events are the Penang Bridge Run to be held in June, International Dragon Boat Festival (June), International Music Fest (June) and International Lantern Festival (September).

Cheang was speaking to reporters after welcoming 560 tourists from Singapore, Bangkok and China at Penang's Bayan Lepas International Airport.

Tomorrow, some 400 tourists from Germany are expected to arrive by luxury cruise liner "Star Cruise" at Swettenham Pier and 180 more are also expected to arrive at KTM Butterworth station by E&O Express train from Bangkok.

In KEDAH, Chairman of Tourism, Arts and Culture Committee Datuk Fong Chok Gin said the tourism associations in the State will work hand in hand with similar bodies in Thailand to promote the VMY'07 in Thailand.

"The VMY'07 promotion in Thailand is showing positive result," he told reporters after welcoming tourists at Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah, Monday.

He said at least 800 tourists from Thailand are expected to arrive in Kedah daily through Bukit Kayu Hitam entry point.

Thousands more will come by boat through Satun and by air from Bangkok starting from Jan 6.

He said at least 2.8 million tourists are expected to visit Kedah throughout the year, where 70 percent of them will be heading to the tourist island of Langkawi. In TERENGGANU, deputy chairman of Industrial Development and Tourism committee Datuk Mohd Nasir Ibrahim Fikri said at least 2.8 million tourists are expected to visit the state this year compared to 2.3 million last year.

He said the state has lined-up various tourism programmes including 14 major events throughout the year.

Speaking to reporters at Sultan Mahmud Airport here, Mohd Nasir said the Terengganu government has spent RM10 million to promote VMY'07 and to upgrade tourism infrastructure.

He said various major events have been lined up throughout the year including the Terengganu Carnival in February, Bulan Citra Rasa (from June 1-3), Sultan Cup Terengganu Endurance Challenge (from Nov 10-11), Terengganu Monsoon Cup in Dec; and Terengganu International Rainforest Challenge (from Dec 1-10).

In KELANTAN, some 500 tourists from Thailand arrived at the main entry point of Rantau Panjang today. They were led by Narathiwat Governor Karan Supkitvilekkarn and his deputy Nipon Nrapitakkun.

They were welcomed by Tourism Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Dr Victor Wee.

In PERLIS, the state government is targeting at least 550,000 tourists to visit the state this year.

The state has lined up at least 13 national level tourism events and 31 state level tourism programmes throughout the year.

Perlis Tourism Action Council director Ahmad Bakri Ali said the state is seeking approval from the Federal Government to allow tourists from Thailand to use the Facilities Letter (FL) to enter Perlis.

"The FL will facilitate a hassle free travel for tourists from Thailand to visit Perlis," he said.

Source: BERNAMA

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