A new Malaysian Tourism Director in the Middle East

Malaysia became one of the most popular destinations for the Middle East tourism especially from the Gulf Area because of a lot of reasons like nature, beaches, standard of living, social life, smiling people & more.

Malaysia has been aiming to attract more than 300,000 Arab tourists in 2007. The figure has been carefully calculated following a year-long tourism promotional campaign, which is the largest that the agency has organized in the past 20 years.

Tuan Razali Tuan Omar, the new Malaysia Tourism Director to the Middle East and Iran said. "We aim is to receive 20 million visitors and $12 billion in tourism revenues in 2007, and we organizing the campaign dubbed 'Visit Malaysia 2007' seeks to attract an additional number of travellers from this region we have successfully achieved our past growth expectations, and are set to continue that trend and the total number of tourist arrivals in Malaysia reached 16.43 million in 2005, resulting in earnings of $8.72 billion".

The promotion was also launched this year to mark a significant milestone in the history of Malaysia as it celebrates 50 years of independence from British rule."This year, we have made various arrangements to attract tourists from the Middle East region. One of our initiatives was to strengthen partnership with more than 240 tour agencies within the Gulf.
"In 2007 year we are looking for 300.000 Arab tourists, and the number of visitors from the Gulf region has risen phenomenally over the last few years, which explains Tourism Malay-sia's enthusiasm to woo more visitors from here," he added.

The number of UAE nationals visiting Malaysia grew by 40 per cent to 29,606 in 2005, according to Tourism Malaysia statistics. With 53,000 tourists; Saudi Arabia remained the most important market for Malaysia.

Malaysia is holding a region-wide promotional campaign to attract visitors during this summer holiday season. Malaysia is making aggressive efforts to project a tourist-friendly image, especially for those from Arab-speaking countries.

"Arabs and GCC nationals do not require visas to travel to Malaysia and can stay up to three months after arriving in the country and at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), we have announcements in Arabic. We have encouraged employment of more Arab-speaking staff at travel agencies and hotels and urged the shopping complexes to put up signs in Arabic," Tuan said.

Malaysia has also launched a "Feel-at-Home" campaign specifically to target Middle East tourists. In the same time a Kuala Lumpur street has been given the Arabic name 'Ain Arabia'. The area is a showcase of various Arabic and Middle Eastern food and cultures and visiting Arab families are handled by a special immigration lane at KLIA.

A number of activities will also be held throughout the year in Malaysia to serve as attractions to foreign visitors. "Over the years, Malaysia was able to position itself as one of the Middle East travelers' preferred holiday destinations in Southeast Asia. We are constantly working towards meeting their requirements, especially the Arab tourists," he added.

Tuan Omar said that in order to provide a convenient travel experience to Arab tourists, signage in Arabic texts have been placed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to guide travelers through various sections.Arabic-speaking staff has also been assigned at the airport to assist Arab travelers. Some hotels and restaurants in Malaysia also have employees who are fluent in the Arabic language," he said.

The Kuala Lumpur airport, Tuan Omar added, also has a fleet of limousine taxis large enough to accommodate Middle Eastern tourists who often travel in a family of six to eight members. In 2006, Malaysia received a total of 17.5 million international tourists and it seeks to increase that figure to 20 million this year. Inbound tourism from the Middle East last year was around 190,000 tourists.

Regarding the best time of visiting Malaysia, Tuan Omar added, and Malaysia is celebrating 50 years of independence this year and has declared 2007 as Visit Malaysia Year. The south East Asian state promotes itself as a family destination offering theme and game parks for children, great cost effective shopping experiences and lots of entertainment for all ages, combined with verdant hills, mountains and greenery. Malaysia has it all.

"Each of the 13 states of the federation has its own attraction and uniqueness. However, for the Visit Malaysia Year the promotions are being focused on major events and festivals that will be organized throughout the year. Excerpts from the interview" Tuan Omar said.

Answering the question of what are the key cities that focusing on by tourism Malaysia on the promotional campaign, Razali said:" We have 13 states in Malaysia and each state has its own capital and each capital has its own attraction and uniqueness. However, in the context of promotions, we are focusing more on the niche products whereby we encourage product owners and operators to develop services and products suitable for international markets."

"We continue to promote health tourism, Malaysia My Second Home programme and education tourism. Malaysia has successfully established itself as a regional hub for excellent health care, capable of providing state-of-the-art medical facilities and services for health tourists." Tuan added.

He said:" Malaysia is a value for money destination."

Great climate and green nature paradise. Malaysia enjoys a tropical weather year round and the maximum temperature is 32 degree Celsius. Malaysia is a truly Asian destination. For those who want to experience Asia, by visiting Malaysia you will find it all. A country with a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural mix, politically stable and safe with friendly people, it is the place for everybody".

Tuan Razali explains the reasons of visiting Malaysia and said:"Malaysia is a friendly, beautiful, culturally rich country and one that's extremely good value for money to travel in. It's modern enough to be comfortable yet full of natural beauty to be mesmerized.Culture and Art: The mix of cultural influences in Malaysia is the result of centuries of immigration and trade with the outside world, particularly with Arab nations, China, and India, however each culture remained largely intact; that is, none have truly been homogenized. Traditional temples and churches exist side by side with mosques."

"Special activities: Malaysia also offers some very special activities, and if you make room for one or two of them, they will enhance your trip immeasurably. You can choose to spelunk in the world's largest single cave chamber in Sarawak's extraordinary Gunung Mulu National Park, or a diving trip in the tropical waters off both Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo where you can find some of the world's best scuba diving sites. A visit to the rain forest of Malaysia should be high on the list for anyone who has an affinity for nature, and it should be: the Malaysian rain forest is unique in the world and the oldest on the planet" Razali added.