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.