Tourists give city the thumbs up

KUALA LUMPUR: The latest report by Euromonitor International has placed Kuala Lumpur ahead of Paris, Hong Kong and New York in terms of international tourist arrivals.

According to the Top City Destinations Ranking 2009, the Federal capital is ranked fourth out of 100 cities in the world.

New York City, Dubai, Paris and Hong Kong have been placed in the sixth, seventh, eight and tenth spot, respectively.

The report showed that despite the unprecedented drop in international tourists arrivals worldwide which fell by 3.5 per cent, Kuala Lumpur recorded a growth of 5.2 per cent, which saw 9,400,000 tourists entering the country in 2009.

Euromonitor International is a leading independent provider of business intelligence on industries, countries and consumers.

What's attracting visitors to Kuala Lumpur? Streets caught up with some tourists in the city to find out.

Australian Liam Swaaney (left), 29, loves the architecture of the buildings.

"I can't stop shooting pictures of the beautiful buildings in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is a good starting point for a Southeast Asia vacation," said Swaaney.

He said he could see the rich cultural diversity of the country just by looking at the architecture of the buildings.

Megan Cantwell (below), 24, who loves backpacking, said Kuala Lumpur has much to offer in terms of places to visit.

"I've been here for only three days and I've already seen some great places like the Twin Towers, Dataran Merdeka and KL Tower," said Cantwell, a Canadian.

Rupinder Singh, 29, from India, said he's in Kuala Lumpur for a business trip as well as a short vacation.

"This is my first time to Malaysia and I have visited many interesting places," said Rupinder, who visited Dataran Merdeka and Batu Caves, among others, with his wife.

Elena Kozlova, 30, who hopped off from a bus load of Russian tourists at Dataran Merdeka was surprised to see so much of greenery despite the many tall buildings.

"I've enjoyed every moment since I set foot in the country. I'll definitely be back," said Kozlova, who is heading for Borneo for a two-week diving trip.

Iqbal Warsi, 55, from London decided to visit the city after hearing all the wonderful stories about Kuala Lumpur from her son, who was here for his honeymoon.

Iqbal and her husband love everything there is about the city, especially Bukit Bintang.

"It reminds us of Piccadilly in London. We can find all kinds of food and see the different cultures in one small place," said Iqbal. They added that the locals were friendly and helpful.

Frenchman Nicolas Lamballe, 32, who is on his second visit, loves the city.

"Kuala Lumpur is a beautiful place with very nice people. I will definitely come back and bring more friends with me next time," said Lamballe.

Legoland aims for one million visitors

NUSAJAYA: Legoland Development, the operator of Legoland Malaysia Theme Park being built here, expects to see one million visitors passing through its gates in the first year of operations.

Legoland Malaysia Project senior director of operations Siegfried Borst said the company was confident of achieving the target based on the high number of family institutions in the region.

Siegfried Borst (left) and Zainal Ashikin Muhammad Rejab
 looking at a model of pre-war shop houses made of
Lego bricks.

He said unlike in developed countries where the birth rate was declining from year to year, most Asian countries still recorded high birth rate.

“Our theme park targets families with young children aged between two and 12 years old and this demographic serves our business strategy well,'' said Borst.

He was speaking at a press conference after a tour for the media to preview the ongoing development at the Legoland site.

Borst said work on the RM720mil project was progressing well and the theme park was expected to open its doors to visitors towards the end of 2012.

The 26ha theme park will offer 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions. It is located in the centre of a 59ha site in Medini North, a zone dedicated to lifestyle development.

Legoland Malaysia Theme Park is the first component to be developed within Legoland Malaysia Resort. The whole project will also have a retail mall, themed hotel, business hotel as well as office and residential areas.

“We are yet to determine the entrance charges. Our next priority is to talk with potential trade partners to market our park,'' he said.

Borst said unlike other Legoland theme parks which only operated eight months a year and closed during winter, Legoland Malaysia would operate all-year round.

He said the main challenge in developing the park in Malaysia was the “sun and rain”, thus more covered pedestrian walkways needed to be built and trees to be planted.

The other Legoland theme parks are Legoland Billund (Denmark), Legoland Windsor (near London, Britain), Legoland Deutschland (Germany) and Legoland California (the United States).

Legoland Malaysia will have miniature replicas of iconic buildings and structures from across Asia. These include Petronas Twin Towers and India's Taj Mahal.

IDR Resorts director Zainal Ashikin Muhammad Rejab said Legoland Malaysia would create about 1,000 jobs for locals and bring spillover effects to Nusajaya. IDR Resorts is part of Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB).

IIB had, in December 2008, signed an agreement with Merlin Entertainment Group, which will design and operate Legoland Malaysia.

Zainal said with the opening of Legoland Malaysia, IIB would position Medini North as a tourism hub in the 9,712.45ha Nusajaya.

“An indoor theme park is also coming up at Puteri Harbour just a few kilometers away from Legoland Malaysia and both parks will complement each other to attract visitors,” he said.

The government-backed IIB was formed on Nov 3, 2006 to drive commercial initiatives in Iskandar Malaysia via joint ventures and by offering its land.

By ZAZALI MUSA
zaza@thestar.com.my