50pc more hotel rooms needed

BY 2020, Malaysia needs 50 per cent more hotel rooms to cater for the anticipated tourist arrivals of 36 million.

As at February this year, there were a total of 1,610 hotels in the three to five star category and budget hotels in Malaysia. Together the hotels provide 161,117 rooms.

The increase, Deputy Minister of Tourism Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit said, would be required throughout the country.

Malacca records the highest number of tourists, he added.

Mamit, who read the speech on behalf of Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen at the official launch of InterContinental Kuala Lumpur, said that in Kuala Lumpur alone there are 236 hotels, offering 30,000 rooms.

The average occupancy of hotels in Kuala Lumpur in 2010 was 66.9 per cent, which was 4.2 per cent higher than in 2009.

However, the average occupancy of hotels in Malaysia declined by 1.6 per cent, registering 59.3 per cent. This was despite an increase in arrivals in 2010 of 24.6 million compared with 23.6 million in 2009.

Mamit said the decline could have been a result of people opting for Malaysian Homestay.

"There was a dramatic increase in the number of homestays," he said.

This year's tourist arrivals target is set at 25 million and the government is looking at bringing in high-yield tourists.

He added that any decline in arrivals from Japan will be cushioned by higher arrivals from China and India, particularly affluent tourists.

Meanwhile, some of the confirmed new room inventory to enter the Klang Valley market over the next five years are St Regis Kuala Lumpur, Grand Hyatt, Pullman Bangsar, Best Western Premier Dua Sentral, Hilton Garden Inn, Movenpick, Park Regis Kuala Lumpur and Four Season Place.

Plan to transform Rebak Island into unique retreat

Rebak Island Resort, on a 158ha private island off Langkawi, is planning to enhance the island to attract more guests.

The resort, 75 per cent-owned by DRB-HICOM Bhd's unit Hicom Indungan Sdn Bhd, is looking at developing private beaches for guests and opening a wellness spa.

Rebak Island Resort, in which Langkawi Development Authority and Mofaz have a 19 per cent and 6 per cent stake respectively, is managed by Indian luxury hotel chain Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces.

General manager Mahesh S. Aiyer said these plans are likely to be completed in the next two to three years.

"Rebak is a unique private island. In sync with the positioning of a private island, we need to extract the potential of the island," he said during an interview with Business Times.

For a start, it plans to open an additional restaurant serving Asean and Japanese cuisine.

It is also looking at a yoga retreat and a restaurant serving organic food.

Subsequently, it may also develop two private beaches and set up a spa complex aimed at capturing not only guests from its resorts but also tourists from the main island.

Rebak Island, he said, will be transformed into a rejuvenation spot where unique activities can be conducted such as a cooking holiday and for photography enthusiasts.

Tugu Negara

The National Monument is a sculpture that commemorates those who died in Malaysia's struggle for freedom, principally against the Japanese occupation during World War II and the Malayan Emergency , which lasted from 1948 until 1960. It is located in the Federal capital, Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian Houses of Parliament is situated near the monument.

It is the world's tallest bronze freestanding sculpture grouping. Every year on July 31 on Warriors' Day, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Prime Minister and heads of military and the police pay their respects to the fallen heroes by laying garlands at the monument.

DesignConstructed in 1966, the monument is 15 meters (49.21 feet) tall, made of bronze and was designed by Austrian sculptor Felix de Weldon, who was also responsible for the famed USMC War Memorial in Virginia, United States.

The granite base of the monument bears the old coat of arms of Malaysia, flanked on either side by inscriptions in English with Roman script and Malay with Jawi script:

"Dedicated to the heroic fighters in the cause of peace and freedom,

May the blessing of Allah be upon them"

The monument depicts a group of soldiers holding the Malaysian national flag, the Jalur Gemilang, aloft. Each of the bronze figures symbolizes leadership, suffering, unity, vigilance, strength, courage and sacrifice.