Malaysia offers new attractions to tourists

Malaysia offers new attractions to tourists

By Lukman Natanagara

Malaysia Promotion Tourism Board (MPTB) and Malaysia Airlines (MAS)
recently invited 12 Indonesian journalists to visit several tourist
destinations in Malaysia. Joining the tour was The Jakarta Post
reporter. Below is his report:

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Tourism has played a major role in
Malaysia's economic growth, and the Kuala Lumpur government is
still pushing it hard.

New attractions are being set up for business travelers or
pleasure-seekers, as the new economies in the Asia-Pacific region
continue to boom.

Data from the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB) show
that the number of foreign visitors rose to 7.5 million last year
from 7.2 million in 1994.

Despite this slight increase in arrivals, the income from the
tourism industry, which stood at around 9.2 billion ringgit
(US$3.65 billion) last year and 8.3 billion ringgit the year
before, still ranks third -- after oil and palm-oil exports,
which last year were recorded at 147.5 billion ringgit and 10.3
billion ringgit respectively -- in the country's total revenues,
according to MTPB.

That Malaysia, only one-sixth the size of Indonesia, could
attract 7.5 million travelers is remarkable, considering the 4.5
million tourist arrivals in Indonesia last year.

Besides boasting plush hotels for visitors with "real class",
Malaysia also encourages backpackers and nature-lovers to come
and enjoy the country's scenic beauty. It has a number of
pristine forests inhabited by a variety of wild animals like
seladang (wild ox), barking deer, tapir, elephants, and some 250
species of birds: fishing eagles, pheasants, hornbills and
songbirds.

"We work together with travel agencies from neighboring
countries, including Indonesia, since a growing number of
Indonesians are coming to Malaysia for both business and
pleasure," Hafiz Hashim, an MTPB official, told The Jakarta Post
recently.

Hafiz said that his office, which is overseen by the Ministry
of Culture, Arts and Tourism, has also been working with the
country's national flag carrier, Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

MAS spokesman Masri Haji Suramen told the Post the airline
offers a number of packages to group travelers, giving them
discounts on flight tickets and hotels; he declined to give the
discount rates.

"We do not put any specific number of people in one group but
usually there are about 12 people," Masri said.

Malaysia's concerted effort to boost tourism is also evident
in the rash of colorful billboards going up on the side of roads
and overpasses around the capital. Most billboards praise the
attractions of Malaysian states or cities, and the fruits like
durian and mangosteen or tin handicrafts that have made Malaysia
famous.

To keep up with the influx of foreign tourists, Malaysia is
also selling itself as a shopper's paradise.

"Malaysia wants to become like Singapore. To achieve this,
Malaysia is building more shopping centers in the suburbs," Hafiz
said, adding that prices are competitive.

Setting a target of 12.5 million tourist arrivals in the year
2000, Malaysia is currently building the "Mega City" of
Putrajaya, some 35 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur. Next to this
futuristic city, estimated to swallow 20 billion ringgit, a new
9-billion ringgit Kuala Lumpur International Airport is being
built which will be ready for use by the turn of the century.

Putrajaya, launched by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad last
year, will be the country's future capital and features the
latest satellite and fiber-optic technology for its sophisticated
telecommunications system.

Just last month Mahathir inaugurated the Kuala Lumpur Tower,
which, standing 421-meter high in the center of the capital, is
the world's fourth tallest tower for TV stations and
telecommunications facilities after the CN Tower in Toronto,
Canada (553 meters), the Ostankino Tower in Moscow, Russia (537
meters) and the Shanghai Tower in China (460 meters).

The tower's restaurant, located some 250 meters above the
ground and furnished with a rotating platform, attracts thousands
of diners daily.

"We come here not only to dine but also to get a bird's-eye
view of the capital, particularly in the evening, when Kuala
Lumpur is aglow with colorful lights," one of the guests told the
Post.

Although foreign tourists like to admire the spread of
modernity in the capital, they usually visit the traditional
sights of Malacca and the Genting Highlands as well. While
Malacca is home to a clutch of historical buildings, the Genting
Highlands offer sports and gambling, from golf to slot machines
and roulette.