Malaysia moves to lure more foreign tourists

By Devi M. Asmarani

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Malaysia, a country of 20 million people, is resolute on its ambitious mission to attract more visitors.

Armed with a strong tourism promotion board, the country is striving to continue the growth of its tourism sector through aggressive regional and international marketing.

The director of Malaysia's Tourism Promotion Board's northern regional office, Zulkifly MD. Said, said tourism was the country's second largest revenue earner after manufacturing.

In 1996, revenue from tourism was 11.25 billion Malaysian ringgit (US$3.87 billion), up from 9.92 billion in the previous year.

"With the help of our local and foreign promotion offices, we expect to continue the increase in the revenue," he said.

The board, which is overseen by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism, is spending about 100 million ringgit a year promoting tourism, he said.

It has five offices in Malaysia, and 18 overseas branches including ones in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Japan, China and other Asian countries.

Malaysia is focusing on promoting eight destinations. They are the Pulau Pinang (Penang Island), Langkawi, Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Kinabalu, Sarawak, Taman Negara, and Pangkor.

"Each of the destinations offers specific interests," he said.

Pulau Pinang, for example, offers not only a rich Chinese and Malay cultural heritage and beaches, but also great food.

Langkawi is famous for its beaches, Malacca its historical sites, and Sarawak its ethnic culture.

Shoppers can satisfy their passion for shopping in Kuala Lumpur's many shopping complexes, including Central Market, which sells arts and handicraft products.

Fifty-one kilometers from the capital is the Genting Highlands Resort, a gambling and recreational area which sits 2,000 meters above sea level.

Although the board promotes only eight areas now, Zulkifly said other states wanted to promote their areas for tourism as well.

"We are not going to promote some of them now, because of their insufficient infrastructure," he said.

Malaysia's main markets are Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, United Kingdom, and Australia.

The United States and some European countries were its secondary market, he said.

The growth of tourism in Malaysia has triggered more hotel developments. The board says there were 1,289 hotels in Malaysia last year, providing 83,100 rooms, up from 1,220 hotels in 1995.

Ten years ago there were just 905 hotels, Zulkifly said.

Occupancy rates in 1996 averaged at 62.5 percent, he said.

But Zulkifly said Malaysia needed more budget hotels.

"Most businesses want to build luxurious, first-class hotels because it gives bigger yields," he said.

"But we already have too many of those, especially in Kuala Lumpur."

Challenges

But Malaysia's tourism, like in its neighboring countries, is susceptible to factors like political and health issues.

"Tourism is a very sensitive sector, any issue can trigger historical responses," Zulkifly said.

Last year, the tourism sector suffered from a reduction in visitors after rumors cholera was plaguing the country.

He said this year there were rumors of a virus running through Sarawak which affected the number of visitors to the area at the start of the year, he said.

Political issues in neighboring countries like Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand also affected Malaysia's tourism, he said.

But Zulkifly was optimistic tourism would be back to normal this year.

"We expect to maintain a similar number of arrivals, about two billion, this year," he said.

Tourism also boosts the country's transportation sector.

National carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) now flies to 115 destinations worldwide, including six in Indonesia.

The new airline AirAsia, which began last November, now flies to Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines.

MAS subsidiary Pelangi Air has entered the regional market and flies to smaller Indonesia's cities 47 times a week.

Zulkifly said Malaysia saw Indonesia as a potential tourism market and planned to open a tourism office here.

He said the board might open its branches in Medan, North Sumatra and Jakarta in about a year.

"Before, we did not see the need of setting up an office in Indonesia, because at the time the economic situation did not seem as promising as in Singapore and Thailand," Zulkifly said.

But Indonesia's rapidly growing economy has made it Malaysia's fourth biggest tourism market, he said.

Last year, 230,340 Indonesians visited Malaysia, down slightly from 233,960 in 1995, Zulkifly said.