Tourism Malaysia Targets Tourists In Tier-2, Tier-3 Indian Cities

NEW DELHI, Jan 31 (Bernama) -- Tourism Malaysia (TM) will take advantage of the Indian government's move to simplify the travel (passport) process for its nationals by intensifying the agency's promotion in India's Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

Its International Promotion Division senior director Datuk Musa Yusof said other than Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and New Delhi, TM had already identified other cities to promote Malaysia as a family leisure and shopping destination.

"These cities have potential as the next growth areas, where Indians can receive their passports within a week, compared to one to two months previously.

"Furthermore, India has been showing good GDP growth of seven to 7.5 per cent for the past few years with people here enjoying better purchasing power and traveling opportunities," he said.

He said other than traditional destinations in Peninsula Malaysia, TM would also step up efforts to promote tourist destinations in Sabah and Sarawak.

Speaking to Bernama in conjunction with the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) travel fair here at the Indian capital, he said about 770,100 Indians visited Malaysia in 2014 and 650,989 in 2013.

Malaysia earned RM2.2 billion and RM1.9 billion respectively from the arrivals, which was a growth of 18.3 per cent.

Only 539,820 arrivals were recorded between January and September 2015, a decrease of four per cent compared to the same period in 2014.

Musa attributed the drop to two incidents involving MH370 and MH17, as well as the world economic slowdown.

"However, India is still among the top 10 tourist generating markets for Malaysia and TM is working closely with local tour operators and regional airlines to bring in more visitors from this sub-continent (India, Bagladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives)," he added.

He said Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Malindo provide a total of 172 flights weekly to Malaysia.

Meanwhile, a member of TM's Board of Directors, Datuk Daljit Singh Dalliwal who headed the Malaysian delegation to the 23th edition of SATTE, said 63 million Indians hold valid passports and are therefore considered potential tourists to Malaysia.

"Even though our budget has been slashed by one third compared to last year by the ministry, we already restrategised ourselves with minimum funding with better tourist arrivals," he added.
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How will you book your next holiday: online or through a travel agency?

Datuk Seri Dr Victor Wee – Malaysia’s former Tourism Ministry secretary-general and the man who played an instrumental role in setting up the Cabinet committee on tourism and Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) One Stop Centre – is back to doing what he knows and loves best: tourism and culture.

The avid photographer, whose eyes light up when he speaks of his favourite destination, the Tibetan Plateau, is now a professor at Taylor’s University. He joined the university’s School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts last year, after serving as Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board chairman.

Having run the successful Visit Malaysia 2007 campaign, he led the Tourism Laboratory under the Economic Transformation Programme to formulate the 2010-2020 tourism industry roadmap and is now taking young Malaysians “beyond the books” by sharing his years of experience.

The former Finance Ministry advisor, Economic Planning Unit senior director, and National Economic Action Council deputy head talks to Sunday Star about the boom in digital tourism and explains why travel agencies must venture beyond the traditional brick and mortar set-ups to survive.

>What is digital tourism?

It’s using ICT to transact tourism business, sell and buy travel services, search for travel information, visualise travel destinations, get traveller feedback, and share travel experiences over the Web. The digital platform and IT are perfect tools for servicing travellers and doing business in the tourism industry.

>Do travellers really go online for travel inspiration and research, or is digital tourism just a trending buzzword?

The Internet has become one of the most important platforms for travel-related services and to share information with customers. A 2013 (Ipsos MediaCT/Google) survey of 5,000 travellers found that 61% of travellers researched an upcoming trip; 68% use the web for travel research and planning and seek value by engaging in comparison shopping; 70% share their experiences on social media while on vacation; 46% researched a destination, flight, hotel or vacation as a result of seeing an online ad, and read reviews from other travellers; 35% requested more information related to an upcoming trip and watched a travel video; and 31% looked at travel content or reviews by friends and family.

>How has technology changed the face of tourism?

The evolution in the travel industry challenges traditional retail travel agencies. Since the 1960s, travel agencies have used global distribution systems like Amadeus, Galileo and Worldspan to access real-time reservation and booking information. During this era, hotels, airlines and other hospi­tality product suppliers depended on travel agencies and paid them a commission for each reservation.

This began changing from 1993 onwards. There was tremendous development in online travel.

Suppliers became more independent and gradually decreased their dependence on travel agencies. They started investing in brand websites and booking engines to offer cost-effective tools for direct marketing to travellers. This led to the “dis-intermediary” process.

At the same time, Web technologies enabled Internet users to automate searches through search engines. The entire content of web pages, not just titles and URLs, could be indexed, which lead to the intermediating role and search services of Google in 1998. This led to the “re-intermediary process” when portals began to emerge to perform the role of traditional retail travel agents. These online travel agents (OTA) provide consumers with Web access to the central reservation systems of hotels, airlines, car rentals and suppliers of other travel-related products and services.

OTAs like Travelocity and Orbitz let consumers check availability of accommodation, do price comparisons and allow the use of various payment modes. OTAs provide one-stop convenience, empowering travellers to find the best value for their travel needs. Some OTAs even specialise in last-minute reservations with the purpose of selling airline seats and hotel rooms at heavily discounted prices.

Then, technology became even more sophisticated, with innovative online business formats like Priceline.com which collects demand from consumers and communicates it to suppliers. In 2000, “cybermediaries” came along. These third parties – like Skyscanner and FareCompare – charge a fee for negotiating or conducting transactions over the Internet.

As travellers became more confident about buying directly from suppliers, they were exposed to a wide range of travel information, including real-time reservation and booking information. The Internet lets them compare prices and buy tourism packages so they can do their own planning and purchase travel packages without going through a travel agency.

The Internet and social media allow the visualisation of travel products and services through video clips and graphical images. Travel community sites like TripAdvisor and Facebook have shifted the traditional one way supplier-to-consumer communication to an open consumer-to-consumer communication.

>Does all this mean that Malaysian travel operators are in trouble?

Traditionally, travel agencies create value by facilitating the sale and delivery of tourism services from suppliers to consumers. Since all these online tools allow tra­vellers to directly access products and services, commissions paid to travel agencies are shrinking, and travel agencies are being by-passed with bookings made directly with the service provider.

The role of travel agencies as middlemen seems redundant, raising questions about their future. They have to give travellers more than what the Internet offers otherwise why would anyone bother with the agents? The challenge is for traditional travel agencies to re-invent themselves. Those able to do so are prospering, while those that haven’t are barely surviving or have left the industry.

The Internet has the potential to serve as a new communication and distribution channel for servicing travellers as well as the suppliers of travel services and products. For travel agencies that are Internet savvy, this channel enables tourism businesses to improve their competitiveness and performance. But ICT for the tourism business requires huge investments.

>How can travel agents take advantage of technology?

Travel agencies must meet the changing customer. ICT and the Internet must become part of an integrated, customer-centric marketing plan that includes online and traditional marketing tools.

The industry players need an active social media presence to build brand awareness, influence consideration, drive sales or grow loyalty. Social media is an excellent channel for real-time feedback.

Traditional retail agencies must familiarise themselves with online marketing. Pay attention to content posted on sites like TripAdvisor as more travellers are relying on them.

For travel agencies to be relevant in the age of digital tourism, they have to improve their knowledge, increase professionalism and specialise, so that they can give advice that’s in the traveller’s best interest. The digital age travel agent must not only sieve through Internet reviews and packages, but they must have firsthand knowledge of what they’re promoting.

So agents that offer high quality professional service, placing the traveller’s satisfaction – not a commission – as a priority, will prosper.

>Are there any Malaysian digital channels that have impressed you?

AirAsia’s flight ticket sales and promotions get high hits. Online purchase is the main way of buying a ticket from AirAsia. It was the first local airline to popularise online bookings, forcing Malaysians to overcome their apprehension and learn how to buy flights on the Internet.

Also, the award-winning Tourism Malaysia website doesn’t just provide tourist information on places of interest and events, it also has a trip planner and allows online bookings. Other national tourism organisations are trying to do the same.

>Any tips for the digital-savvy traveller?

Everyone does everything online these days. There are many online travel sites claiming to provide the best deals but how can you be sure?

Even if you’ve done your homework, booking a trip that meets, or exceeds your expectations, can be stressful, daunting and time-consuming.

There is so much information coming in from all directions. Travellers are faced with a wide range of choices which complicates the decision-making process. What to buy? It’s a guessing game because not every detail appears online.

Online reviews are merely the views of individuals and pictures can sometimes be misleading. Experienced travel agents keep up with developments about resorts and tours. They know what the service and facilities are really like because they’ve experienced it. They can advice on and recommend the option that best suits you because they know the pros and cons of the hotels and the suita­bility of the area.

For instance: You select a hotel but you may not realise that it’s located next to a noisy club or is very far from the places you want to visit. Travel agents not only arrange the various modes of transportation, but may also save you money with early booking discounts, special fares, hotel deals and travel advisories.

Take cruises for example – an experienced tour agent can probably negotiate freebies and upgrades for group bookings. So there are more benefits when booking with an experienced travel professional versus a faceless computer.

>But isn’t it still cheaper to do away with travel agents?

This is a myth. Talking to agents is free. Travel vendors pay a commission when agents book a trip at no cost to the traveller. You may think you’re getting a better deal by booking online but travel agents offer experienced, personalised service. If you wake up late and miss a flight, who’s going to help you make last-minute adjustments to your travel itinerary if you book online?

>NGOs have pointed to the growth of sex tourism as the world gets smaller in the digital age, warning that Malaysia could be a sex tourism destination with perpetrators grooming their victims online before swooping in. Are you concerned?

Malaysia isn’t the only country at risk. The Internet is borderless. Any country can be targeted by perpetrators. Paedophiles can be traced from footprints left in the search engines. There must be education, awareness and child protection programmes.

-thestar online.

Perak Wants Charter Flights To Draw Tourists From China

KAMPAR, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- The Perak state government wants to introduce special charter flights from China to draw more tourists from the republic.

State Tourism, Arts, Culture, Multimedia and Communications Committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi said the move could attract more tourists from China especially in the light of Visit Perak Year 2017.

She was commenting on visa exemption for tourists from China as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak when presenting the recalibrated Budget 2016 in Putrajaya on Thursday.

She was speaking to reporters after handing over ownership grants for a village structured settlement scheme at Tanjung Bangkong, Malim Nawar here Saturday.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, when announcing the recalibration of the 2016 budget, said tourists from China need not obtain a visa to visit Malaysia from March 1 to Dec 31, 2016.

Meanwhile, in KUALA TERENGGANU, the visa exemption was seen as a boon to the tourism industry and economy in the state.

State Tourism and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jidin Shafee said, in line with the announcement too, the state government was now planning to introduce numerous facilities, including increasing return flights, to lure more tourists from China.

"Other than increasing the entry of China's tourists, bilateral trade will continue to go up and exchange of technology will continue to expand," he said when contacted by Bernama, here, today.

In SANDAKAN, Sandakan Tourism Association chairman Johnny Lim said visa exemption for China nationals to Malaysia would boost their presence in Sabah, which was currently negligible in the district.

In this regard, he hoped the move to get direct flights to Sabah from destinations in China could be realised.

In the meantime, Kinabatangan-Corridor of Life Tourism Operators Association chairman Alexander Yee said the association would identify the specific conditions for visits not exceeding 15 days to brief members before the move was enforced in March.
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PLUS Gears Up For Lunar New Year Traffic Increase

PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) anticipates 1.6 million vehicles will use the North-South Expressway (NSE) everyday on Peak Days throughout the Chinese New Year holidays, a 20 percent increase from 1.3 million traffic on normal days.

“As such, PLUS will implement various strategies to cope with the traffic increase and at the same time, help the public enjoy smoother journey during the holidays,” said PLUS Managing Director, Dato’ Noorizah Hj Abd Hamid.

TTA for Peak Days

As implemented during previous festive seasons, PLUS is issuing a Travel Time Advisory schedule (TTA) for Peak Days travel on the NSE between 5 February and 14 February.

The TTA focuses on traffic distribution and is aimed at reducing traffic congestion on the mainline, most notably at major stretches, toll plazas and rest areas. The schedule is based on studies on the public travel pattern during previous festive seasons.

“As such, we advise the public planning to travel on the NSE on these Peak Days to follow the TTA. Based on our studies, higher adoption rate of the TTA by the public for outbound and inbound journey had resulted in smoother traffic flow on the mainline,” Noorizah said.

Improving Highway Level of Service

PLUS will also implement various strategies to improve its overall highway operations and level of service during the upcoming festive season.

“Among the initiatives are deploying more staff on the highways and the traffic monitoring centre (TMC), increasing the number of PLUSRonda teams and patrolling loops, stationing emergency rescue teams at strategic locations, providing additional parking areas and portable toilets at major rest areas, providing additional tow trucks at selected locations, deploying more than 3,200 staff at toll plazas, conducting aerial traffic surveillance and many more,” Noorizah explained.

In addition, “PLUS will open up contra flow at selected stretches on the mainline. However, the contra flow can only be activated based on the current traffic situation and approval from the Police”, Noorizah added.

Up to 30 Percent Toll Rebate

“As part of an effort to distribute the traffic, PLUS will be offering 30 percent toll rebates on 4, 11 and 15 February,” Noorizah elaborated.

A 30 percent toll rebate will be given to Class 1 highway users paying toll electronically (via PLUSMiles, Touch ‘n Go cards or SmartTAGs) on 4, 11 and 15 February. The rebate is given to those travelling more than 100 kilometres on the NSE, ELITE and NKVE highway.

For example, a highway user travelling between Jalan Duta Toll Plaza and Ipoh Selatan Toll Plaza will be able to save RM7.95 in a form toll reload as follows:-

Entry Toll Plaza	Exit Toll Plaza	Toll Charges	Savings Through 30% Eligible Toll Rebate
Jalan Duta	Ipoh Selatan	RM26.50	RM7.95
Sungai Besi	Skudai	RM41.30	RM12.39
Jalan Duta	Bidor	RM17.60	RM5.28
Juru	Ipoh Utara	RM16.80	RM5.04
Seremban	Pagoh	RM16.70	RM5.01
Putrajaya	Ayer Keroh	RM17.40	RM5.22
Damansara	Juru	RM43.00	RM12.90

The toll rebate can be redeemed at all Customer Service Centres on the PLUS highways between 15 March and 14 June this year.

Highway Traffic Updates

PLUS also advises the public to get the latest traffic updates on the NSE through the PLUSTrafik Twitter service, the PLUS Mobile Apps, the toll free PLUSLine 1800 88 0000, major radio stations and electronic message boards at strategic locations along the highways.

Noorizah was quoted at a media briefing on the PLUS preparations in coping with the traffic increase on festive season at the Persada PLUS on 28 January. Also present was PLUS Chief Operating Officer, Mohammad Fuad Khusairi.

-www.plus.com.my