2020旅游年放眼招亚欧中东客 目标1千亿令吉收入
慕沙尤索：预计能吸引更多来自新加坡、印尼、泰国、汶莱、中国、欧洲和中东的游客。
迎接2020大马旅游年来临之际，大马旅游促进局继续积极在海外展开宣传活动，放眼实现吸引3000万名外国游客，贡献1000亿令吉旅游收入的目标。
该局总监拿督慕沙尤索夫接受马新社专访时说，宣传活动预计能吸引更多来自新加坡、印尼、泰国、汶莱、中国、欧洲和中东的游客。
他说，新一轮宣传活动将于明年1月在印度、汶莱和西班牙开跑;2月是意大利;3月是德国;紧接着是其他目标国家。
他解释，实际上，2020大马旅游年海外宣传活动早在2017年已在伦敦开跑，随后是聚焦2018年1月在泰国举行的东盟旅游论坛。
中东的游客是大马旅游局欲吸引游马的目标之一。
慕沙说，除了通过巡回宣传活动、社交媒体和旅游促进局官网宣传，浮罗交怡旅游配套、郊区民宿和趣味活动配套等也是宣传活动的一部分。
他说，各项本地传统文化体验的旅游活动也能让本地居民参与其中。
慕沙说，相比网络促销配套，多数游客倾向于在门市购买度假促销配套。因此，他促请消费者慎选拥有合法执照的旅行社。
~光华日报~
In support of inbound tourism
Visa has announced its partnership with Mid Valley Megamall. At the event, (from left) Ng, Tourism Malaysia Package Development Division director Syed Yahya Syed Othman, Tourism Malaysia Package Development Division Secretariat Shopping Malaysia head, Norliza Md Zain and Mid Valley City chief executive officer Daniel Yong.
KUALA LUMPUR: In support of Visit Malaysia 2020, and its target of achieving 30 million international tourist arrivals, Visa has unrolled a series of initiatives to promote inbound tourism.
“We have year-long promotions and offers in various parts of Malaysia including Klang Valley, Johor Baru and Penang. Visa cardholders can enjoy discounts and benefits at family attractions such as Legoland, Desaru Coast Adventure Waterpark, and KidZania, other outlets like BH Petrol and Swarovski, as well as hospitals such as ParkCity Medical Centre and Subang Jaya Medical Centre,” says Visa country manager for Malaysia, Ng Kong Boon.
Aside from establishing partnerships with such attractions, hotels and dining outlets, the company has also established tie-ups with major shopping malls to roll out attractive promotions in an effort to play its part in promoting Visit Malaysia 2020.
To this end, Visa has announced its partnership with Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur recently on Dec 12. Being the world’s leader in digital payments, this partnership seeks to encourage tourists to use digital payment for their purchases during the festive season.
With this campaign Visa cardholders can make payment with their contactless card for purchases made at Mid Valley Megamall here and The Mall, Mid Valley Southkey, Johor Baru, to be eligible for redemption gifts. To sweeten the deal, when they shop on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and on the eve of public holidays and on public holidays, they will also receive eco-friendly metal straws and pans as giveaways for transactions about RM200 and RM350 respectively.
For the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration, Visa and Mid Valley will be introducing another campaign from Jan 5, 2020 to Feb 2, 2020 where Visa cardholders will receive Toys “R” Us vouchers when they spend minimum RM350 with their contactless cards.
Ng notes a tremendous growth in adoption of digital payment.
Visa cardholders in Melaka are also in for a treat as Visa has also partnered with Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall, Terminal Pahlawan and Hatten Square. From now till Jan 2, 2020 Visa cardholders will receive a specially designed Barbie canvas shopping bag when they spend minimum RM300 using their contactless cards.
According to Ng, this is part of the effort to propel adoption of digital payment, which has seen a tremendous growth due to the introduction of e-wallets. Furthermore, digital payments are a more convenient and safe way to making payment, as no physical cash is involved and tourists do not need to walk around with a big amount of local currency.
“Many people have the impression that the exchange rate applied when using their cards to make payment in a foreign currency is not as good as what they can get at a money changer. However, this is not necessarily true, as the exchange rate offered by the banks are just as competitive.
“We are extremely excited to promote Malaysia as a tourist destination, especially to our neighbours in Asia Pacific. Based on our data, Singaporeans, Indonesians and the Chinese are the top spenders when they travel to Malaysia. During this festive period, we are partnering with malls frequented by tourists to encourage them to use their payment cards, particularly contactless payments, when they make their purchases here. These promotions are designed to help boost tourism spend as part of the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign, “ Ng said.
~The Star~
吹东北季风迎寒凉岁末 巴生谷北马冷气候至2月初！
这是个充满寒意的季末，继泰国曼谷出现低气候，我国的多个州属特别是北马区，在这个岁末直至明年，同样充满凉意，最低温或在摄氏20至22度左右！
气象局国家气候及地球物理营运中心主任莫哈末希山博士接受《中国报》专访时说，当局预测，国内多个州属特别是北马，从12月至明年2月初，有低温现象可能性。
他说，这是因为受到东北季候风影响，以致北极、在西伯利亚和蒙古地区形成的冷风团，在年杪至2月初，会通过季候风从中国带到南中国海再吹向东南亚，包括大马。
“根据气候学，大马在年尾通常气候会比较寒凉一点，这很正常，至于今年的的温度可以多低，胥视北极气候而定。”
据了解，常年炎热的马来西亚，曾在2005年，在瓜拉吉赖出现摄氏15.7度低温。
他不忘提醒一些居住在较低洼地区的居民，由于近期会持续下雨，因此要防范突发水灾可能性，而一些水灾黑区基于涨潮情况会恶化。
日前，《马新社》也报道，巴生谷一带气候犹如金马仑高原和云顶般寒冷，特别是在晚间，巴生谷一带的气温创下本月最低的摄氏22度，但这与东北季候风有关，而该季候风预计在明年3月结束。
（新闻整理自《中国报》）
Tuba Island to be turned into travel hotspot
The Rural Development Ministry intends to turn Tuba Island here into one of the rural tourism destinations for the northern states.
For a start, it would focus on upgrading projects in Desa Keda Teluk Berembang with an allocation of RM2mil to develop the infrastructure there, said its minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun.
“We want to paint the houses around here in bright colours to make them more colourful and livelier, and of course we want to help increase the income of residents, ” she said.
She said that some sectors could be developed for tourism.
“We will start at Kampung Teluk Berembang first and then we will extend to the whole of Tuba Island, ” she told reporters after a working visit to the island yesterday.
Rina said there were a number of tourism products on the island, including sea products that could be used to make handicraft apart from keropok lekor and fish farming.
There are nearly 5,000 residents from seven villages living on Tuba Island, which is located about 5km from the Kuah jetty.A total of 40 houses in Desa Keda Teluk Berembang are involved in the Colourful House project. — Bernama
Nasi Goreng Pattaya, or simply nasi pattaya, is a Southeast Asian fried rice dish made by covering or wrapping chicken fried rice, in thin fried egg or omelette.
Despite its name, the dish is believed to originate from Malaysia, and today is also commonly found in Indonesia and Singapore. It is often served with chili sauce, tomato ketchup, slices of cucumber, and keropok.
~wikipedia~
A friendlier Immigration experience
Immigration officers will be taught basic Mandarin and other essential languages in an effort to provide a friendlier service at the country’s entry points.
Besides easing communication, Immigration Department director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud (pic) said the move was also made in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign.
“As part of our ongoing effort to improve the Immigration Department, we want to enhance our counter service, especially at the KLIA (KL International Airport) and other airports.
“Our officers must provide a friendly service because they are our visitors’ first impression of the country when they arrive.
“Those who are stationed at counters will be taught a basic level of Mandarin and other languages to help ease communication, ” he said in an interview ahead of the Immigration Department Day celebrations today.
Khairul Dzaimee, who took over the helm of the department in January this year, said one of his focus areas was personal development for all his officers.
“For me, training and upskilling of our officers is a very important aspect.
“This year, we increased the training period for our cadet officers to four months.
“As for existing officers, they, too, will be required to attend intensive courses to improve themselves, ” he said.
He also spoke on instilling integrity among Immigration officers.
“My wish is for the Immigration Department to be an enforcement agency that is respected by all because of the integrity of our officers, ” he added.
Besides training, Khairul Dzaimee said the department would also beef up its enforcement operations.
“When I inherited the department, we already had a policy where there is no day without an enforcement operation.
“I continued that policy and we intend to increase it further.
“With the Back For Good (B4G) amnesty programme ending on Dec 31, we will ensure that on Jan 1 we will go ahead with our enforcement efforts on a massive scale.
“There will be no compromise for illegal immigrants who are caught after the programme, ” he said.
Khairul Dzaimee also said the department did not intend to extend the deadline of the Back For Good programme.
“As we are approaching the deadline, we see the queues at the Immigration Department getting longer and we expect this to increase further.
“To accommodate this, we have extended our operating hours from 5pm to 10pm on weekdays. We also open on Saturdays until 3pm.
“However, the Home Ministry has made it clear that there will be no extension of the Dec 31 deadline, ” he added.
The B4G programme was introduced this year as an effort to reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the country.
Under the programme, illegal immigrants are allowed to return home without punishment as long as they pay a RM700 compound and can produce flight tickets.
On the Immigration Department Day celebrations, Khairul Dzaimee said for the first time, the department would honour outstanding officers with medals.
The department would also be giving out a special award to an individual for his lifelong contribution to the department.
~The Star~
外国车辆若贴深色车窗膜 将禁入马来西亚
贴上深色车窗膜的外国车辆将不被获准进入马来西亚。
据《新海峡时报》报道，马来西亚交通部副部长阿都阿兹表示，深色车窗膜构成危险。
在这之前有人担心，进入马来西亚的外国车辆可能把毒贩和伊国组织成员载入。
“陆路交通部门将立即采取行动，禁止车窗膜暗色的外国车辆入境马来西亚。”
“那些进入马来西亚的车辆，必须去除深色的车窗膜。”
主要用于遮挡刺眼阳光以及调节车内气温的车窗膜问题，多年来引起争议。
根据马来西亚法令，前挡风玻璃的贴膜必须有至少70%的透光率，其他车窗的透光率也必须超过50%。不过，司机可以安全或医疗原因，写信给当局申请成为例外。
当地仍有许多司机不顾这项法令。
~新海峡时报~
Malaysia records more than 20 million tourists in first 9 months of 2019
Malaysia saw positive growth in the tourism sector in the first half of this year, boosted by stronger international tourist arrivals.
International tourist arrivals stood at 20,109,203 tourists between January and September, an increase of 3.7 per cent, compared to 19,386,115 visitors during the same period last year.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said the top 10 countries with the highest contribution of tourist arrivals was Singapore with 7,868,755 visitors, followed by Indonesia (2,792,776); China (2,413,956); Thailand (1,442,224); Brunei (929,789); India (539,167); South Korea (508,080); Vietnam (323,393); Japan (321,283) and the Philippines (317,294).
“Tourist receipts for the same period in 2019 reached RM66.14 billion compared to RM61.85 billion for the same period in 2018, indicating an increase of 6.9 per cent.
“The main contributors to the tourist expenditure were Singapore (RM16.3 billion), China (RM12.8 billion), Indonesia (RM8.8 billion), Thailand (RM2.8 billion) and India (RM2.5 billion).
“Per capita expenditure for the period of January to September also grew by 3.1 per cent from RM3,190.5 to RM3,289.3,” he said today in announcing the third quarter performance of the tourism sector.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi left). - NSTP/LUQMAN HAKIM ZUBIR. The short haul market, Mohamaddin said, had retained its position as the largest contributor of tourists to Malaysia with a share of 68.7 per cent.
The contribution of tourists from the medium haul market was 21.6 per cent, while the share of tourists from the long haul market was 9.7 per cent, he added.
“The highest per capita according to market distance saw Saudi Arabia recording the most for long haul at RM11,394.4; China at RM5,301.5 for medium haul and Vietnam at RM3,356.3 for short haul.”
The minister also said the haze which had shrouded Malaysia and neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Brunei had affected the momentum of tourist arrivals.
“I believe the tourist arrivals could be better without the haze.”
Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Musa Yusof said he believed that Malaysia would be able to achieve this year’s tourist arrival target of 28 million.
He said there would be a significant number of tourist arrivals towards the year end, especially in December from countries experiencing winter.
Malaysia normally records about 2.5 million tourist arrivals in Dec.
On tourist arrivals from China, Musa said Malaysia was still favoured by visitors from the country.
~New Straits Times~
Decision on Airbnb next year, says Tourism D-G
Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Musa Yusof said to address the problem, the committee would continue to discuss the issue to find suitable solution. -BERNAMA
The task force on short-term residential accommodation, Airbnb will announce its decision by early next year, Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Musa Yusof said today.
He said the task force was set up to regulate Airbnb accommodations nationwide and would take note of examples from other countries such as France, Singapore and Japan.
“We will look into the issue. What we have implemented throu\gh the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry and the agency under the Housing and Local Government Ministry, is that we already set up a task force to look at what other countries have implemented in terms of Airbnb-type rentals.
“We expect to announce the decision early next year and it needs to be regulated. For example, in some locations, Airbnb accommodations are allowed but not in the big cities where there are hotels available,” he told reporters after launching the Visit Malaysia (VMY) 2020 Kick Off conference here today.
He said this in response to complaints made by hoteliers who claimed of experiencing a decline in occupancy rate despite the high number of tourists arriving in the country as most of them were choosing Airbnb.
Musa said to address the problem, the committee would continue to discuss the issue to find suitable solution.
“The concept of Airbnb in Europe and the US are different than it is in Asia. The Airbnb accommodations that I used to stay at, either in Europe or in the US, the guests stayed with the hosts, and we already have this concept here for the past 30 years and we call it homestay.
Homestay is more for the experiences while Airbnb is more of an accommodation. Only in Malaysia, the visitors are not staying with the owner and this will be regulated,” he said.
He said the matter would be looked at as a whole as there were several joint management bodies had disallowed Airbnb to operate in the condominium building as it was viewed as disruption.
Meanwhile, commenting on the conference, he said it was launched to further promote the promotional activities of the VMY 2020 campaign in the northern states. -- Bernama
Malaysia-Thai border trial extended
New gateway: The newly-built CIQ checkpoint in Sadao will be open 24 hours for cargo traffic travelling between Malaysia and Thailand.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Bukit Kayu Hitam-Sadao Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) checkpoint will operate round-the-clock well into 2020 with Malaysia and Thailand extending the three-month trial period.
The checkpoint, which opened for 24 hours to cargo traffic on June 17, will remain so until June next year to prolong the trial period to one year.
“This will be a boon to businesses and cargo transport operators on both sides of the border,” said Thai Ambassador to Malaysia Narong Sasitorn.
“We have observed more trucks coming into Thailand from Malaysia during the extended hours.
“From the Thai side there has not been a significant increase, so we need to create more awareness,” he said in an interview.
Both governments had decided earlier to open the checkpoint for 24 hours for three months from April 1, but the move was delayed as the Thais wanted more time to prepare.
Border connectivity was key on the agenda when Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad met his Thai counterpart Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha for talks in Bangkok last October.
Following the prime ministerial initiative, both foreign ministers met in the Thai capital in January to reach an agreement to open the border for 24 hours, from the previous 18-hour operation, on a three-month trial basis.
The extra hours are aimed at reducing congestion at the border where there are bottlenecks during rush hour.
Narong said promoting seamless border connectivity remained a top priority to enable businesses on both sides to have complete flexibility to pick the right time to transport their goods and ensure more cost-efficient logistics.
He said latest statistics showed that the number of trucks passing through the Sadao CIQ complex (both ways) was between 12,000 and 13,000 per month, but added that the utilisation of the extra hours was still very low.
During the extended operating hours at the Sadao checkpoint (11pm to 5am Thai time) in June, he said inbound cargo traffic from Bukit Kayu Hitam registered a 2.5% increase, followed by 0.67% (July), 0.56% (August), 0.16% (September) and 0.30% (October).
“The technical team is continuing to monitor the developments at the shared border.
“On my part, I have been in touch with the Songhkla vice-governor to spur things on,” the envoy added.
Narong said the new Sadao CIQ complex was near completion and scheduled to be operational by the first quarter of 2020.
He said a decision on the building of a new road alignment to link the US$78mil (RM315mil) complex with the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) complex was still pending.
“We have presented two proposals to Malaysia, which has come up with its own suggestion. We need to finalise this to prepare for the opening of the Sadao complex.
“Without a new road alignment, we will have to rely on the existing route.
“But this will not resolve the congestion and bottleneck situation at peak hours with more lorries and trucks waiting to cross,” he said, adding that a single inspection facility for all trucks, now randomly inspected at least twice – once in Thailand and in Malaysia – was being explored.
Narong said he had also met Works Minister Baru Bian on the proposals to build a bridge to connect Takbai in Narathiwat to Pengkalan Kubor in Tumpat, Kelantan, and another linking Rantau Panjang, Pasir Mas, to Sungai Golok, also in Narathiwat.
He said the Takbai-Pengkalan Kubor bridge would span 270m and have four lanes.
“If the roads connecting both ends of the bridge are included, the total length of the project will be 10.6km.
“This bridge is long overdue. The economic benefits are indeed immense. Thailand had already proposed the engineering design some years back,” he said.
~The Star~
Overload caused KTM server crash
KTM Bhd (KTMB) attributed “overwhelming demand” for ETS tickets that caused its ticketing servers to crash on Monday, frustrating tens of thousands of commuters.
The deluge, according to KTMB chief executive officer Datuk Kamarulzaman Zainal, came from the combination of demand associated with year-end school holidays, Christmas, Chinese New Year and Thaipusam, all of which was taking place from December until the end of February.
“We used to sell our tickets on a month-to-month basis but as we managed to secure a confirmed schedule from the contractor of the Klang Valley Double Track (KVDT) rehabilitation, we decided to open up the sale for the three-month block,” he told a press conference.
The KVDT rehabilitation is a massive project that had caused severe disruption to KTMB’s services running within the Klang Valley over the past few years as cargo, intercity, Komuter and ETS trains share either a pair of tracks and at work bottlenecks, only a single track.
Kamarulzaman said KTMB did its calculations before opening for the three-month block for sale on Monday.
“By our estimation, the ticketing system is supposed to be able to deal with the load,” he said adding that KTMB was also saddled with a “legacy” IT infrastructure that was purchased in 2000.
“It took up to 30 minutes to sell one ticket on Monday, and yesterday the time dropped to two minutes.
“We are truly sorry our customers had such an unpleasant experience,” he said, adding that the improvement was the result of several quick measures that were immediately implemented to address the situation.
Firstly, KTMB increased the bandwidth to its servers from 100Mbps to 200Mbps and secondly, it increased the number of central processing units used in its servers from 10 to 15.
For a longer-term solution, KTMB is embarking on a drive to embrace full digitisation of its infrastructure and services with substantial progress to be seen by the third quarter of next year.
“We already have a consultant studying our system so that it could be revamped.
“We expect to use ticketing systems that are on par with those used in aviation ticketing, as far as stability and reliability are concerned,” he said, adding that KTMB’s servers recorded nearly 400,000 users when sales opened, causing severe congestion.
Despite the chaos, KTMB still managed to sell up to 57,000 tickets by 10pm on Monday, with popular destinations being mostly north-bound, to places like Butterworth and Padang Besar.
A survey by The Star at KL Sentral yesterday found that a sense of calm had returned to the ticketing counters, with customers queuing calmly and orderly.
In Putrajaya, Transport Minister Anthony Loke expressed regret over Monday’s incident and said a substantial revamp of the ticketing system, which has weaknesses, was required.
“To this end, the ministry has directed KTMB to take remedial measures,” he said after attending a conference on bus rapid transit organised by Volvo Buses, Technology Depository Agency and Prasarana Malaysia Bhd.
~The Star~
Common signs 常见标语
BUKA
Open 开
TUTUP
Closed 关
MASUK
Entrance 入口
KELUAR
Exit 出口
TOLAK
Push推
TARIK
Pull 拉
TANDAS
Toilet 厕所
LELAKI
Men 男
WANITA / PEREMPUAN
Women 女
DILARANG MASUK
No Entry 不能进入
DILARANG MEROKOK
No Smoking 不能抽烟
JALAN SEHALA
One way traffic 单行道
浪高3公尺！交怡客船取消 776人困吉港口
来往浮罗交怡的客船因周五天气因素，海浪高3公尺，导致客船行程取消，逾776名乘客受困在吉打港口码头。
Ferry Line Ventures有限公司人力资源及运作经理峇哈林指出，受影响的客船行程分别是周五上午11时30分以及下午1时。
他说，之前在周五上午11时30分，载有418名乘客从吉打港口前往浮罗交怡的客船，因海浪汹涌被迫返回码头。
“从浮罗交怡前往吉打港口，另一艘载有178名乘客的客船，基于安全，转而驶向玻州港口码头”。
海浪冲进一艘载有轿车及乘客的渡轮内。
他说，为此该公司在玻州港口多加4趟船班，以方便吉打港口的乘客能继续前往浮罗交怡。至于从玻州前往浮罗交怡的客船则没面对问题。
此外，他也为乘客带来任何不便致歉。
另一方面，Langkawi kini脸书周六也流传一段约28秒的视频，贴文中指出海中央有大浪，海浪冲进一艘载有轿车及乘客的渡轮内。
该贴文也指不清楚该渡轮是前往浮罗交怡或往返吉打港口或玻州港口，希望全部能安全抵达。
~光华日报~
浮罗交怡3获绿卡 再膺世界地质公园
浮罗交怡放眼在2020大马旅游年期间，吸引500万名游客到访。
吉打浮罗交怡岛第三次获得“绿卡”，享有世界地质公园地位殊荣。
联合国教科文组织（UNESCO）是于今年8月重新评估浮罗交怡的地质公园地位。
浮罗交怡发展机构(LADA)首席执行官哈兹里安南说，联合国教科文组织一周前向该机构捎来这项好消息。
“我们透过联合国教科文组织世界地质公园的网站获取非官方成绩，即浮罗交怡获得绿卡，被列为地质公园之一。官方成绩将在2020年4月公布，但我们被告知，已可以将这个好消息分享给所有浮罗交怡和全马居民。”
哈兹里安南周一晚出席联合国教科文组织世界地质公园的晚宴时这么说。
今年评价更好
“若相比2015年收到的评价，今年的更加好，意味着岛上的数个改善工作已受到承认。”
2名专家从8月7日至8月11日，连续5天评估浮罗交怡的地质公园地位，他们分别是爱尔兰的Kirstin Lemon博士和冰岛的Sigurdur Sigursveinsson。
浮罗交怡是在2007年6月1日正式被联合国教科文组织宪报为全球第52个地质公园，而此荣誉地位每4年评估一次。该免税岛也曾在2011年及2015年，获得地质公园地位。
将展出恐龙化石
另一方面，哈兹里阿南也表示，来自中国自贡的恐龙化石将在浮罗交怡国家地质公园(kilim Karst Geoforest)展出。
他说，这项标本展出是浮罗交怡联合国教科文组织世界地质公园与自贡联合国教科文组织世界地质公园之间的暂时性交换计划，来自浮罗交怡的化石同样也会在自贡展出。
他是周二出席2019年联合国教科文组织世界地质公园一项课程活动后，如是指出。
“有关恐龙标本还未展出之前，我们会在1年之内详细的研究一切交换细节。
另外，他表示，除了自贡联合国教科文组织世界地质公园，该组织将继续与世界其他地质公园合作。
“浮罗交怡有了地质公园探索中心，我们会透过各种标本的交换，与世界其他地质公园合作。”
他指出，联合国教科文组织绝不允许出售恐龙化石等地质遗迹，不过可以暂时借用或交换。
近距离观魔鬼鱼食人鲛
此外，浮罗交怡海底世界也增添一个800平方英尺的大鱼缸，以养殖20条魔鬼鱼及15条食人鲛，让民众近距离观看魔鬼鱼及食人鲛。
所养殖的魔鬼鱼共有4个品种，而食人鲛则有两个品种。根据海底世界副总经理努再鲁依兹万表示，魔鬼鱼及食人鲛每天喂养两次，时间是上午7时30分及下午2时30分，所以，游客得以近距离观赏饲养员养鱼的过程。
大规模宣传吸引游客
浮罗交怡旅游协会首席执行员再努丁卡迪尔表示，政府需要展开大规模的宣传活动，才能够在2020大马旅游年期间，吸引500万名游客到访浮罗交怡免税岛。
“岛上旅游业者希望2020年财政预算案中，政府能够考虑到大规模宣传工作的需要，以期能够在2020大马旅游年达到500万游客到访浮罗交怡免税岛的目标。
他说，目前岛上的旅游业者，都是动用自己的资金来推广浮罗交怡的旅游项目及景点，这造成了他们在宣传工作方面受到一些限制。
～光华日报 ～
大马上半年旅游收入410亿令吉·增长6.8%
旅游、艺术及文化部长拿督莫哈末丁可达比宣布，马来西亚今年首6个月的国际游客人数达1335万4575人次，较去年同期增长了4.9%；而旅游收入为410亿令吉，与去年同期的390亿令吉相比增长了6.8%。
莫哈末丁可达比今日在2019年上半年旅游业对国家经济贡献的新闻发布会上表示，我国今年上半年的旅游业绩呈现正面增长，也希望这趋势能持续发展至2020大马旅游年。
另外，被询及内阁改组的传闻，他表示，“这只是2至3名部长职务的变动。我也不知道是谁。其实这不是改组，只是部长间的小变动。”
至于民政党主席拿督刘华才点名旅游部长是表现不达标的部长，莫哈末丁可达比表示，“我不介意他们说想要替换我，他们要怎么说就怎么说，最终还是以首相的言论为主。”
被问到是否已对任何可能性做好准备，他直言，“我们不受影响（tak takluk)，不被任何可能性影响。部长不能说部门是属于他的吧？”
他也说，他不会为自己的表现评分，而是交由人民来评分，并指该部的成长都是政府官员和公务员共同合作的成果。
文章来源 ： 星洲日报 2019-08-23
Tourism Malaysia ties up with Expedia
PUTRAJAYA: Tourism Malaysia has inked a deal with American travel company Expedia Group which will see both sides collaborate to boost tourism promotion to Malaysia.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said the partnership with Expedia will help support Malaysia’s target of achieving 30 million tourist arrivals and RM100bil tourist spending by 2020.
“Malaysia has just launched its fifth instalment of the Visit Malaysia series, Visit Malaysia 2020, and this is a timely strategic partnership which will benefit all parties.
“Expedia Group, as many of you would know, has over 200 travel booking websites in more than 70 countries around the world and work with thousands of lodging and flight partners to cater to the differing needs of modern travellers today.
“This partnership will collectively promote travel to Malaysia hence helping us grow our tourism arrival and income, empower our hospitality industry to be equipped with the right tools and services to help them grow their business locally, and be seen as a beacon in the sustainable tourism space, ” said Mohamaddin in his speech at the signing ceremony of the new collaboration, held at his ministry yesterday.
Mohamaddin said one of the agreements between Tourism Malaysia and Expedia Group will be focused on several global campaigns to promote inbound travel from the United States, Australia and Japan to Malaysia.
The three countries are among the biggest points of sale for Expedia Group.
“This partnership will see a joint execution of destination marketing campaigns to spotlight Malaysia’s hidden and unique tourist attractions as well as promote the variety of accommodation to Expedia Group’s 750 million plus monthly visitors globally, ” said Mohamaddin.
The collaboration will also see Expedia Group and Tourism Malaysia exchanging traveller insights, to help better understand tourist behaviours and home tourism strategies in line with the implementation of Visit Malaysia.
Expedia Group senior vice-president of commercial strategy and services Greg Schulze said the company found Malaysia to be a “progressively thinking destination” and was committed to help expose the country to travellers around the world.
“Tourism is an important contributor to Malaysia’s economy, accounting for almost 14.9% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and 3.4 million jobs.
“As a world travel platform, Expedia Group is proud to be an online travel tourism partner to Tourism Malaysia, connecting Malaysia’s tourism industry to millions of travellers in our worldwide network, ” he said.
Among the travel websites under Expedia Group include Expedia.com, Trivago and Hotels.com.
~The Star~
Air quality worsens slightly in the country
The air quality in Peninsular Malaysia has worsened slightly with Rompin in Pahang Air Pollutant Index (API) readings jumping from “unhealthy” to “very unhealthy” zone.
According to Department of Environment (DOE) data, the API recorded in Rompin was at 223 as at 4pm, yesterday.
On Saturday, Rompin’s API was “unhealthy” at 125.
Conditions in Kuala Lumpur remained at moderate levels during the weekend, with the API at between 65 and 67.
In Selangor, Johan Setia saw a slight increase in the API readings.
The reading recorded was at 95 compared to 92 on Saturday.
Other areas in Selangor such as in Banting (82), Petaling Jaya (81), and Shah Alam (83) maintained its “moderate” readings.
The API readings in Kedah and Perlis also worsened from “good” to “moderate”, while Sabah maintained its “good” API readings.
Other places nationwide such as in Negri Sembilan, Johor, Perak, Penang, Kelantan and Terengganu recorded “moderate” API levels.
Meanwhile, in Sarawak, Sri Aman posted an API reading of 252 and generally the haze situation here and in Miri is still bad.
The API reading worsened compared to Saturday which was at 247.
The air quality in SK Kuala Baram 2 station and the Miri Industrial Training Institute station both improved.
SK Kuala Baram 2 station recorded an API reading of 80 from 119, while the Miri Industrial Training Institute station recorded a reading of 161 from 222.
As of yesterday morning, the DOE recorded one “hot spot” (forest fire) in Sarawak
An API reading of between 0 and 50 is good, while 51 to 100 is moderate, 01 to 200 is unhealthy, 201 to 300 very unhealthy, and 301 and above is deemed hazardous.
The public can also refer to the Department of Environment (DoE) website at or by downloading the MyIPU smartphone app on ‘Google Play’ to get hourly API readings
According to the Asean Specialised Meterological Centre (ASMC) weather and haze outlook posted on Saturday at 6.25pm, it noted that hotspot activities in Sumatra and Kalimantan are likely to persist in the country.
ASMC’s satellite monitoring system has also indicated in recent times that open burning is also coming from that direction.
~News courtesy of The Star~
A passion for porcupines prompts man to start Sik zoo
Fascinated by porcupines, Mahadzir Abd Hamid, 44, started a Landak Raya (Malayan porcupine) Sanctuary and Breeding Centre in Kampung Tala, Jeneri in 2017 and recently added a mini zoo as well.
He told reporters that to get going on the sanctuary wasn’t easy because first and foremost, one would need a Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) permit.
Of the mini zoo which opened about three months ago with 30 porcupines, he said: "I built it to enable people to get a closer look at a creature some may have not seen before.”
“What’s special is no entry fee is charged and visitors get to learn about how porcupines are bred and fed, with offspring kept in a separate enclosure,” he said of the attraction which largely draws visitors during the school holidays.
“At first I had three porcupines and rearing them was just a hobby. Then, when I learnt about their potential and in order to protect them from extinction, I decided to add to the number.
“Alhamdulillah, all of them are healthy and breeding well,” he said of the sanctuary where over 100 of the prickly creatures can be found and which is open to the public every day except Friday.
-- BERNAMA
Hot and dry weather in M'sia until October, says the weatherman
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Malaysia is expected to experience hot and dry weather with less rainfall until October, says Deputy Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis.
She said apart from Malaysia, neighbouring countries Singapore and Sumatra in Indonesia are expected to experience the same weather pattern.
"We expect to experience a shortage of rainfall with warmer and drier weather this year without the El Nino and La Nina phenomena until October, " she said when asked about the essence of the 21st Technical Working Group (TWG) Meeting and the Ministerial Steering Committee Sub-Region on Cross-border Haze Pollution in Brunei.
She said this when contacted on the Bernama News Channel (BNC) talk showroom programme here Wednesday (Aug 7) night.
Commenting on the meeting, Isnaraissah said the five countries involved had presented measures taken to address fires and haze in their respective countries.
"Among the information shared was to carry out continuous monitoring of weather and hotspots, enforce the law and have the equipment prepared, mobilise human resources and co-ordinate fire-fighting, " she said.
The annual meeting involving four other Asean countries, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, was held to monitor and detail the steps taken in addressing cross-border haze.
The initiative to address the Asean haze problem began following a serious episode of pollution in 1997 that led to the Asean Convention on cross-border haze signed by 10 countries in Kuala Lumpur on June 10, 2002. - Bernama
兴建居林机场 阿兹敏：带动经济成长
经济事务部长拿督斯里阿兹敏阿里指出，即使槟城国际机场将扩建，但基于数个因素，槟城机场的发展还是受限的，因此吉打居林机场的兴建，将有助带动北马区域的经济成长。
阿兹敏阿里今日出席财政部属下JKP有限公司兴建的可负担房屋计划移交钥匙予购屋者的仪式后重申，居林机场是充当货运机场的用途，而政府已接获数个发展建议书，如今由北马经济走廊特区执行机构审查，过后再提呈给予相关部门。
他说，泰国南部与槟城港口有大量的经济活动，未来必定达到饱和的现象，届时必须扩充槟城港口或机场等，以应付大量的经济活动。
他解释，虽然槟城国际机场拥有强大实力，但众所周知，槟城国际机场已达到饱和现象，即使现在展开扩充计划，但仍然有诸多因素必须考量。
“兴建居林机场将带来更多经济效应，让北马区各州属都受惠。”
他坦言，兴建居林机场势必引发槟州政府的抗议，而中央政府已聆听槟州政府的看法及建议了，因此，州政府在展开计划时肯定会考量槟州政府的要求。
另外，针对中美贸易战的持续对我国造成的影响，阿兹敏阿里说，中国和美国都是大马重要的贸易伙伴，中美贸易战持续开打，肯定会影响区域的国家，包括马来西亚。
他说，昨日与槟州政府的见面会时已强调，主宰本地经济成长的主要还是依靠本土投资，因此政府必须积极扮演角色，让本地企业展开投资活动。
他也说，中美贸易战开打以来，看见许多外资准备迁移企业工厂至其他国家，而东南亚区域就是外资厂商看重的区域，包括马来西亚也受惠。因此，马来西亚应积极去招揽这些企业到我国设厂投资。
出席该仪式的包括农业及农基工业部副部长兼峇央峇鲁国会议员沈志勤、槟州第一副首长拿督扎基尤丁、槟州行政议员拿督阿都哈林及阿菲夫。
~光华日报~
Tourism Langkawi, Malindo Air to launch promotion to lure tourists from Phuket
Tourism Langkawi, a local tourism development organisation, in collaboration with Malindo Air, will launch a promotion to introduce tourism products and hotel accommodation offered by its members, to lure tourists from Phuket to the island, next month.
Langkawi Tourism president Ahmad Phisol Ishak said Malindo Air’s Langkawi-Phuket-Langkawi direct flights had opened up a huge opportunity for the island’s tourism sector as it would ease the travel of visitors.
“Fifteen members of Langkawi Tourism comprising travel agents, hotel and tourism product operators are joining forces with Malindo Air to launch the promotion at Langkawi International Airport on Sept 2.
“We want to take this opportunity to attract more tourists from Phuket. During the launching ceremony, representatives from 10 travel agents and three media organisations in Thailand will also be flown in as part of the promotion.”
He said this when met after chairing a meeting with Malindo Air's North and Central Malaysia manager Arasu Soundarajan and members of Tourism Langkawi at Ombak Villa Langkawi here today.
Ahmad Phisol said the promotion was also being held as a result of positive feedback received by the organisation following the Tourism Langkawi products engagement mission in Phuket from July 19-22.
“The mission was very successful, Tourism Langkawi with Malindo Air received positive feedback on what we were able to offer as a result of the meeting with 25 travel agents there. Furthermore, we see Phuket as an attraction not only for Thai tourists but also from Europe and China,“ he said.
Meanwhile, Arasu Soundarajan said the airlines hoped the cooperation and the promotion would increase the number of passengers on its Langkawi-Phuket-Langkawi sector.
“We hope to push our load through this collaboration with the marketing support from Tourism Langkawi. Through this campaign, we can offer special fares to travel agents offering hotel packages,” he said.
Malindo Air has been offering flights for the Langkawi-Phuket-Langkawi sector every Monday, Wednesday and Friday since March.
-- BERNAMA
