Legoland Malaysia Eyes Bollywood For Film Shooting At Its Nusajaya Venue

The view of the Legoland Hotel Foto Bernama

JOHOR BAHARU (Bernama) -- Recognizing the tourism potential inherent in Bollywood films shot at its venue, particularly as a colourful and eye-catching location for the song-and-dance numbers that are part and parcel of Bollywood films, the Legoland Malaysia Resort in Nusajaya, Johor, wants to attract India's film makers.

Bollywood film producers frequently include colourful foreign locales in their films to generate mass appeal amongst an audience that is infatuated by the scenic foreign background locations with their favourite stars performing dance-and-song numbers.

Thila Munusamy, the director (sales and marketing) at Legoland Malaysia Resort, agrees that Bollywood film-makers could use Legoland Malaysia's colourful background for their film shoots.

"Yes, Bollywood film-makers would find the Legoland Malaysia Resort as an attractive background setting for their film shoots," Thila Munusamy said in an interview with Bernama. "While we have, initially, focused attracting visitors from the neighbouring region, we are also getting visitors from India, China and Hong Kong.

POSITIVE RESPONSE

Thila was one of the members of a Malaysian mission to attend the SATTE India (South Asia Travel and Tourism Event) tourism show in New Delhi in January 2013.

A Tourism Malaysia sales mission will be heading for India in March 2014, organizing roadshows in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Cochin. The mission, which will include Legoland representatives, will also make a pitch for Legoland.

During the first three and a half months since its opening in September 2012, the resort's experience has been very positive and encouraging, according to Thila who says that the resort offered "clean and family-oriented entertainment", adding that while the resort had been completed, it would add each year a new theme.

STUDY NEEDED

While Legoland Malaysia, which can be attractive, particularly, to young Indian tourists, the marketing experts at the theme park venue could do well to study the idiosyncrasies of the Indian tourism market which, fortunately, is well-serviced by Tourism Malaysia's Mumbai office.

Legoland Malaysia's representatives said that they would be closely coordinating with Tourism Malaysia's Mumbai office in an attempt to attract Indian tourists.

Legoland Malaysia Resort, a partnership project between Themed Attractions and Resorts, Iskandar Investment Bhd., and Merlin Entertainments Group, is the first such property in Asia, along with its theme park, water park and the Legoland Themed Hotel, with its Disney-like figures greeting visitors to the hotel and is considered especially attractive for young and old guests.

MAIN DESTINATION

What makes Legoland particularly attractive for Indian visitors is its proximity to Singapore which continues to be a top destination for many Indians who seem to enjoy shopping in the city-state and which has hosted the highly popular Indian International Film Academy in the past. Singapore's Sentosa Island is also a popular crowd-puller in India.

Tourism promotion strategists at Legoland are aware that there is fierce competition amongst foreign destinations to increase their share of India's outbound tourism.

Besides Thailand, which is a hot favourite of Indian tourists, other countries that are vying for a slice of India's outbound tourism pie include Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, Mauritius, the UK, Seychelles, South Africa, Switzerland, etc.

Switzerland which is aggressively courting Indian tourists whose numbers began skyrocketing after many Bollywood blockbuster films shot in Switzerland, including some starring Shah Rukh Khan in the lead male role, like Dil to Pagal Hai.

HIGHLY PERTINENT

To give Indian tourists the "feel-at-home" comfort, the Swiss Tourism Board even created an India Village on the outskirts of Zurich, serving Indian food and screening Indian films for the benefit of the guests who enjoy the food and the movies in the midst of what is touted as "Swiss coziness".

Stephan Heuberger, the Swiss Tourism Board director for India, said recently during a road show in India that Indian tourists were "highly valued".

The number of Indian tourists visiting Switzerland last year stagnated; the depreciation of the Indian rupee vis-a-vis the Swiss franc did not help much last year as most tourists visiting the Alpine country found the prices exorbitant. Indeed, Switzerland witnessed an eight percent decline in tourist arrivals from India last year over the year-earlier period.

Nevertheless, tourist experts are warming up to the idea that improved market conditions in 2014 would re-start the tourism band wagon rolling from India to Switzerland in the future. According to Heuberger, India is one of the strategic growth markets for Switzerland which, he emphasized, was still popular in India.
-bernama.