Make Visit Malaysia Year 2014 a “national mission” calls M’sian PM

It may be a year away but Malaysia’s Tourism Ministry has started preparations for Visit Malaysia Year 2014 (VMY 2014) with the campaign launch on January 19 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who called on all Malaysians to make the year a national mission.

“Every Malaysian needs to make the success of this campaign a national project and mission, and everyone should show a tourist-friendly attitude to let tourists feel that when they visit Malaysia, they are accepted with polite and friendly treatment from locals.”

The PM added the project must involve every ministry, state government and player in the tourism industry – starting from the country’s entry point, immigration officers who stamp the tourists, passports, customs officers, taxi drivers, hotel staff, business people and tour operators.

The Tourism Ministry has set a target of 28 million tourists for VMY 2014, three million more than the 25 million foreign tourists who visited Malaysia in 2012.

Najib also said the government would continue supporting the tourism industry, which is targeting 36 million visitors by 2020.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen added the campaign was already gaining traction as there were 56.3 million online searches on VMY 2014 thus far. The year would also be bigger than previous visit years and would focus not only be bigger but would focus beyond tourism products.

“We aim to also make Malaysia the venue of choice for conventions, seminars and meetings too,” she added.

The campaign launch, part of a three-day tourism carnival to create awareness of the economic importance of VMY 2014, also saw the unveiling of the campaign’s theme song, Celebrating 1Malaysia, Truly Asia, sung by Malaysia’s rock queen, Ella. The song will be used worldwide to promote  VMY 2014.

Malaysia first hosted Visit Malaysia Year in 1972, then again in 1986, 1990 and 1994, with the last in 2007. – Corinne Wan

ASEAN Tourism Forum 2014 flies to the “Land of the Hornbills”

Kuching, capital of the east Malaysian state of Sarawak (pictured), which is popularly known as “Land of the Hornbills”, will host next year’s ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF 2014) from January 16-23.

The ASEAN Travel Exchange (TRAVEX) will be held at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching., and is expected to attract 1,000 sellers from the region and 600 international buyers.

Malaysia’s Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said it was timely for Sarawak to host ATF as, apart from being Malaysia’s first international event of the year, the conference cum travel mart would help usher in Visit Malaysia Year 2014 (story above).

On the choice of Sarawak as the venue, Ng said it was to expose the state as a destination for ecotourism and business events.

The theme for ATF 2014 is ASEAN Advancing Tourism Together.

* Photo courtesy of Sarawak Tourism Board

Mũi Né offers best value beach break in South East Asia

A new study by global travel search site, Skyscaner, on Southeast Asia’s best value beach destinations for this year put Mũi Né in Vietnam on the top of the list for couples.

The study analysed the cost of return flights for two adults from Singapore and the cost of accommodation, food and drink for a week. Seventeen resorts across seven popular countries in the region were included in the research.

Mũi Né in southeastern Vietnam (pictured), which has been attracting growing numbers of visitors in recent years, topped the list for best value with the ever-popular Malaysian resort of Langkawi close behind, making the wallet lighter by just SGD$3.

The paradise Indonesian island of Bali, which is reported to be considering an alcohol ban, took third spot at a total cost of SGD$600 for a couple for one week.

Vietnam made #10 in the most popular overseas destinations for Singaporeans last year according to Skyscanner’s search data, while Malaysia and Indonesia were second and third respectively.

The Philippines also score highly for good value in the rankings, with both Malapascua Island and  Boracay Island featuring in the top 10 best value. Vietnam features twice in the top six, suggesting that, as a country it offers some of the best value for travellers within the region. Myanmar, the fastest growing destination for Singaporeans in 2012, also creeps into the top 10.

   Southeast Asia’s top 10 best value beach destinations – 2013

Travelport’s new link with Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is the newest user of Travelport Hotel XML Supplier Link technology. By implementing this link the hospitality group can now transmit its content directly to Travelport’s Worldspan, Galileo and Apollo GDS platforms, eliminating the costs, inefficiencies and data restrictions of routing content via a third party.

According to Travelport the new interface also eliminates dependencies on other third parties to bring new its functionality from Carlson to travel agents. This improved delivery connection provides rates, inventory and content directly to travel agencies in over 170 countries.

The technology also reduces hotel distribution costs by supporting a single connection to all three of Travelport’s GDSs. Other benefits forvTravelport-connected travel agencies include improvements in response times, a more efficient purchasing experience and added functionality.

Travelport subscribers will get instant access to Carlson Rezidor’s 1,000+ hotel properties worldwide’s real-time rates, availability and rules, as well as Travelport Complete Pricing functionality that provides the total price for a hotel stay including rates, taxes, surcharges and fees prior to booking.