A welcoming environment is vital for any country’s tourism sector to flourish. Mutual understanding be-tween the nation’s various religions and communities is a key factor that promotes peace and harmony in Malaysia. “Diversity is definitely the strength of Malaysia that makes her special to the eye of the world,” says Dato’ Seri Jamil Khir Bin Baharom, Minister in the Prime Minister’s De-partment of Religious Affairs. “The concept of 1Malaysia is not a mere slogan or political rhetoric. For Malaysia to succeed, it can only be done through the unity of all races with respect to diversity.”
There are some 80 ethnic groups in Malaysia, the main groups being Malay, Chinese and Indian. “The concept of 1Malaysia is intended to harmonise the various races without changing their identities,” says the Minister.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin believes innovation within the industry is the key to attracting more tourists to the country. “The global traveller today is not looking for destinations, but experiences, and arts-related tourism will enhance our global appeal,” he says, adding that Malaysia should look at highlighting its arts and cultural offerings.
The country’s rich cultural heritage is reflected in its unique art – an area rich in potential to increase tourist spending. Although greater visitor numbers have increased revenues from the sector, the next step is to similarly increase yield per tourist. The Ministry of Tourism wants to double yields (receipts per arrival) from £469 in 2009 to £975 by 2020.
Tourism Minister Dato’ Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen sees Malaysia well positioned as a high-yield art tourism destination. In an interview with BBC World News last year, she said, “We encourage tourists to visit the country not only because of food, beaches or shopping, but to admire homegrown art pieces. Malaysia has talented artists who have exhibited beautiful contemporary art pieces. Hopefully tourists will purchase these pieces as souvenirs.”
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London-based Malaysian fashion designer Jimmy Choo comments, “Malaysia has got a lot of beautiful places and a lot of local artists as well. Our local designers and artists are fantastic. Malaysia does so many beautiful things.”
To present Malaysia’s tour-ism treasures to the world and in line with the Economic Transformation Programme – Malaysia’s roadmap to become a high-income nation that is both inclusive and sustainable – the Government has proposed 12 high-impact tourism initiatives. The projects to boost tourism fall under five main themes that are targeted: affordable luxury; nature adventure; family fun; events, entertainment, spa and sports; business tourism; and cross-theme projects, which enhance connectivity for medium-haul markets and improve the selection of higher quality hotels.
Business tourism is one of the key areas that will see a greater focus on high-yield visitor traffic. In 2009, Malaysia welcomed 1.2 million international business tourism visitors, generating around £2.06 billion in visitor spending to the local economy. The estimated spending for each international business tourist is £1,525 – three times the spending of an average leisure visitor. The Government’s plan is to see 2.9 million business visitors annually by 2020.
At the heart of Malaysia’s business community is the nation’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, or KL as it’s known locally. There is a drive to see Greater KL be the largest contributor at the gross national income level by 2020, contributing over seven times more than the next target urban centre – Johor Baru – and 2.5 times over the largest industry sector, namely oil, gas and energy.
“We want to make KL world class,” says Dato’ Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin, Minister of Federal Territories. “One of KL’s main competitive advantages would definitely be cost. We are very competitive compared to most cities in the world. In terms of structure, we are not far off most world-class cities. We are looking towards developing more parks, etc, so that locals and foreigners will have access to areas of leisure and be able to wind down.”
Holiday Villa: one of Malaysia’s most trusted international brands
In its Road to Compet-itiveness report, the Malaysia Productivity Corporation looks at how companies and nations have the capacity to add value to economic products, services and processes to give them an edge. One company that is highlighted is Holiday Villa Hotels and Resorts, a premier international hotel management company. The brand is a registered trademark in London and Malaysia and is present in 10countries around the world. The company has 25 quality hotels and resorts, eight of which are in Malaysia, that provide levels of accommodation, services and amenities that are appreciated by both business and leisure travellers alike.
“Being the heart and soul of Asia, Malaysia can be a connecting point for those wanting to see more of Asian countries,” says Datin Mavis Masri Azman, managing director and CEO of Hotel Villa Hotels and Resorts. “Malaysia has dynamic tourism products that can be fully exploited and marketed to the world. It has become a must-visit, must-shop, must-see and must-invest destination.”
She adds, “We wanted to establish a truly Malaysian hotel brand name and give value-for-money products and services, while at the same time keeping international hotel standards. Holiday Villa wants to give our guests extra warmth and friendliness and we introduced our very own local service quality programme: ‘Let Us Manja (Pamper) You’. We are honoured that our service trademark has won many awards here in Malaysia and we are committed to providing the same level of personalised services in all destinations that we operate.”
The company offers its guests a range of accommodation, from affordable and modern deluxe rooms to luxurious boutique hotels, chalets and apartment suites.
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