Country still close to travellers' hearts despite aviation incidents

An aerial view of the island of Langkawi. - Filepic

PETALING JAYA: Despite being scarred by two aviation disasters, foreign travellers still flock to Malaysia to see the country’s beauty.

When Tourism Malaysia sent out a tweet on July 29, asking: “How was your visit to Malaysia? We would love to hear from you”, it elicited countless responses from foreigners who shared their adventures and recommendations on What’s Your Malaysia Story.

“I got married in Malaysia,” said Gabi Fuzle Elahe Hasan. “The whole travel was amazing and unforgettable; the country, the people, the culture, everything is forever in my heart and I feel Malaysia is like my home, too.”

Facebook user Steve Williams said: “Every single one of my 22 visits has been incredible and I can’t wait for the next. My favourite country in the world.”

Another respondent, Huma Khurshid Akhtar, explained how she fell in love with Malaysia on her first visit, prompting her to stay and work in Johor Baru for six years before returning to Hertfordshire, Britain, in 2012.

“I saw (Malaysia) once and I wanted to see it again and again,” she posted. “Therefore, I lived there for six years and then left. I visited again last year and I still felt the same. Heaven on earth!”

Lutfiye Oz, who has visited Malaysia four times, said the highlights of her holidays were the cave experience in Mulu, Sarawak, and kayaking in the mangroves in Langkawi.

“Each time around my second day (of the trip), I am already planning my next trip back, with all the new adventures I have heard about,” she wrote. “Malaysia is simply amazing, and the people are beautiful.”

Other foreigners who had visited Malaysia for holidays continued to share their experiences on the ShareMy webpage, posting about the must-see, eat and do while exploring the country.

The ShareMy initiative was launched in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2014.

It is aimed at encouraging tourists to explore Malaysia virtually before making their visit and allowing them to share their experiences by linking a post about their visit on their blog to the ShareMy website http://www.sharemalaysia.my/.

Slovakian traveller Alexandra Kovacova even drew up a list of her 16 favourite things to do while in Kuala Lumpur, with the iconic Petronas Twin Towers topping the list.

Kovacova, who had walked her way through a number of tourist attractions here, described Kuala Lumpur as a “pretty city”, which was still on her list of dream cities.

-thestar online.