Ng: Lure the super-rich

QUEENSTOWN (New Zealand): Malaysia is losing out millions of ringgit from “super-rich” tourists because there are not enough adrenaline-packed tour packages to attract them. Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, who visited the town here yesterday, said this holiday destination located in the Southern Alps of New Zealand was many “light years” ahead of Malaysia in tourism. She said Queenstown had a tour package for visitors in every income category – from backpackers to millionaires.

“The alps alone attracts an income of NZ$100mil (RM245mil) every year from entrance fees and spin-offs such as food and activities like bungee jumping, parachuting and helicopter tours.“Queenstown has everything – from great souvenirs to great food and adventures, all of which are innovatively packaged. The town itself attracts up to a million foreign visitors every year.

On top of the world: Dr Ng taking in the scenery after a helicopter ride to a mountain peak in Queenstown.

“Such value-add is sadly missing in Malaysia. Our tourism destinations offer very basic packages,” she said after a briefing by Skyline Gondola senior manager Chris Dickson. Dr Ng said Malaysia needed to come up with innovative ideas to lure tourists from every income group because although it had plenty to offer, the “packaging” of its products was not good enough.

“We have cities with nice buildings, beautiful islands, ancient forests, huge limestone caves and mountains, which people would love to see. “If we can offer helicopter tours, I am sure many rich tourists would come to Malaysia for aerial tourism,” she said, adding that for example, visitors paid up to RM5,000 per hour for helicopter tours in Queenstown.

Dr Ng, who is on a 10-day mission to New Zealand and Australia to promote Malaysia, said she would discuss with tourism development authorities and the private sector to come up with more innovative ways to enhance the industry.

-theStar online.