In the news: Halt to VMY2014 promotions as mark of respect for missing MH370, new offerings from Shangri-La Hotels and Traders, more AirAsia connections for Sarawak to the Peninsular
Malaysia suspends VMY 2014 campaign, sharp drop in Chinese arrivals expected
Malaysia has temporarily halted its Visit Malaysia Year 2014 (VMY2014) campaign as a mark of respect to relatives of passengers and crew of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, said tourism and culture minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.
The ministry has put on hold all international promotional activities for the special designated visit year until the missing plane is found.
The minister told Malaysia Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) that it would be insensitive of the Malaysian government to continue its planned tourism promotional events at a time when relatives of the 239 passengers of the missing plane were going through a difficult period.
“Until we know the whereabouts of MH370, I have made the decision to suspend all roadshows, especially those to be held in China,” Nazri said.
Flight MH370 with 239 people on board vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after take-off on March 8 on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Two-thirds of the passengers were China nationals. The ongoing search and rescue operation for the aircraft over the Indian Ocean is entering the third week and, at press time, has yet to yield any results to confirm where the missing plane is.
Nazri admitted that there has been a significant drop of tourist arrivals, especially from China since MH370′s disappearance.
According to a report in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP), Malaysia is facing a potential loss of up to RM4.2 billion (US$1.3 billion) in tourism revenue as tourists from China look to travel elsewhere following the MH370 saga.
The report also quoted Luo Juan, a senior analyst with market research company Forward Information, as saying Chinese arrivals in Malaysia this year would drop by 20% to 40%, representing 400,000 to 800,000 tourists.
SCMP said travel agencies in mainland China have reported a sharp drop in the number of Chinese visitors to Malaysia.
Malaysia’s tourism ministry has set a target of 28 million arrivals for VMY2014 with RM76 billion in tourism receipts. Part of the year’s promotions included several large-scale events for the campaign in China.
Chinese tourists make up about 12% of Malaysia’s total arrivals, and is the third largest source of visitors to the country. Based on Bank of America Merrill Lynch statistics, Chinese tourists contribute 0.4% of Malaysia’s gross domestic product. Last year 1.79 million Chinese visited the country, a 15% increase over 2012.
• Photo courtesy of Visit Malaysia Year 2014 website
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts partners HRS, Traders launch PressReader
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts and HRS Group have signed a global long-term cooperation agreement to work together in the leisure, as well as the corporate travel segment.
The 82 five star Shangri-La hotels throughout Asia Pacific, North America, the Middle East and Europe will be bookable worldwide on the websites of HRS and hotel.info via a direct interface. These include the hotels’ rates, availabilities, content information as well their corporate rates.
HRS’ partnership with Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts comes close on the heel to other agreements with Kempinski, Pan Pacific, Taj Hotels or Fairmont Raffles Hotels and Resorts.
In a related development, Traders Hotels have implemented PressReader, an all-you-can-read digital newsstand, in its 15 hotels throughout Australia, Asia and the Middle East.
PressReader’s innovative technology offers hotel guest cover-to-cover full editions of more than 2,500 global newspapers and magazines in 60 languages from over 100 countries, which can be read or downloaded on personal laptops and mobile devices.
Guests do not need an account or login. Once they connect to the hotel WiFi they can download and launch the PressReader app on their personal device making available numerous titles, including local newspapers and lifestyle magazines.
• Photo of Kerry Hotel Beijing courtesy of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts
AirAsia enhances connectivity from Sarawak to the Peninsular
AirAsia, Asia’s largest low cost carrier, has introduced four new routes from Sarawak to Penang, Langkawi (Kedah), Terengganu and Kota Baru (Kelantan) to bring the state close to Peninsular Malaysia.
Two new routes are from Miri to Terengganu and Penang, and from Kuching to Kota Baru and Langkawi.
AirAsia operates the Kuching-Kota Baru route three times weekly, and to Langkawi four times weekly.
The new Kuching-Kota Baru route is AirAsia’s ninth domestic route from the city.
AirAsia is the sole airline to connect Kuching directly to the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It connects both Sabah and Sarawak to the Peninsular with 399 flights weekly, offering the most connectivity within the two states.
