Firefly targets tourists with new routes

Firefly is targeting foreign tourists for its two new routes, Kota Bharu-Singapore and Penang-Koh Samui beginning this August 10 and 11, its Head of Marketing & Communications Angelina Fernandez said.

In a statement here today, she said they are expecting tourists from the Middle-East, Japan, South Korea and India, who largely choose Penang as their preferred holiday destination during intense seasons in their respective homelands.

Fernandez said islands are seen to be the demand for these markets, hence creating an access to Koh Samui via Penang will be most ideal for these travellers who are keen to explore spectacular beaches in the region.

Apart from that, the airline will also restart its Subang-Hat Yai route on August 17.

The Kota Bharu-Singapore and Subang-Hat Yai routes will have flights every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and flights to Penang-Koh Samui will be on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Firefly is offering special airfares price from RM99 (one way) for the Kota Bharu-Singapore and Subang-Hat Yai routes and RM199 (one way) for Penang-Koh Samui route.

These promotional rates are for bookings made from July 2 until July 15 for travel starting from their respective commencement dates to March 30 next year. -- Bernama

Qatar Holding, Jerantas to sign MoU on Harrods Hotel

KUALA LUMPUR: The world-renowned Harrods department store has set its eyes on Malaysia as the site of a Harrods Hotel.
An invite sent to the media said Qatar Holding LLC would be signing a memorandum of understanding with Jerantas Sdn Bhd today to explore Malaysia, specifically Bukit Bintang, as the ideal site for the next Harrods Hotel development.

According to sources, Qatar Holdings will be working with Tradewinds Corp Bhd (TCB) on the venture.

TCB holds the franchise for the Harrods retail stores in Malaysia and had indicated as early as 2008 in its annual report that it could collaborate with Harrods in future residential, commercial and hotel projects, especially in Kuala Lumpur.

According to a source, there is also a possibility of Harrods Residences opening together with the Harrods Hotel.
“The Harrods Residences will be sold at a higher price than The Banyan Tree Residences,” the source said.

In September last year, the then Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail revealed that a consortium of three developers was proposing to build the Harrods Hotel.

Apart from Qatar Holding and TCB, sources identified the third interested party as Datuk Desmond Lim.

Qatar Holding and Lim both are the major unitholders of the Pavilion Real Estate Investment Trusts.

Ahmad Fuad had at the time identified a piece of land in Jalan Conlay near Restaurant Seri Melayu as a suitable site for the hotel.

The restaurant, which is owned by Amcorp Group Bhd, sits on land that is leased from Lembaga Kraftangan Malaysia.

Lembaga Kraftangan comes under the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry and acts as the custodian for the Federal Lands Commissioner.

It is understood that the government had put out a tender for the sale of the said land.

It also understood that Lim owns the lease on the strip of land where the Chulan Square restaurants are located.

The signing of the MoU, to be held at the Pavilion Mall, here, will be attended by Qatar Holding vice-chairman Dr Hussain Ali Al-Abdulla and Jerantas corporate representative Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Ismail.

A search on the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) revealed that Jerantas' main shareholders are PS Trading Sdn Bhd (33.99 per cent), Gagasan Simfoni Sdn Bhd (65.99 per cent), with Saharuddin Abdullah and Sumami Kiman each holding one share.

The directors of the company, appointed in March 2012, include Datuk Manan Md Said, Raja Sa'adi Raja Amrin and Shaharul Farez Hassan. Shaharul is group chief executive officer of TCB.

Manan and Raja Sa'adi have an equal share in Gagasan Simfoni and are directors of the company.

The Harrods department store in Knightbridge, London, was sold in 2010 by Mohammed Al Fayed to the Qatari royal family's investment firm Qatar Holding, which is also the investment arm of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

It was reported previously that a Harrods Hotel was planned on the rooftop of the department store. The status of this project is unknown.

Initiatives to boost tourism in Langkawi

KUALA LUMPUR: Langkawi Development Authority (Lada), which is tasked to coordinate all efforts under the Langkawi Tourism Blueprint (2011-2015), is looking through 77 initiatives for implementation on the duty-free island.

Lada chief executive officer Tan Sri Khalid Ramli said the authority has set up a delivery management office to monitor and keep track of the implementation progress of the initiatives.

"The initiatives involve various aspects, including connectivity, flight schedules and matters pertaining to direct flights to the island, transportation and services, among others," he said, adding that the initiatives have had a positive impact on the people in Langkawi.

Speaking to reporters after the handing over of Lada's sponsorship of the Langkawi International Fishing Tournament 2012 to Joran, a unit of Berita Harian, here yesterday, Khalid said of the 77 initiatives, 15 are almost at the completion stage while others are at various stages.
"We hope in the next two or three months, we will see the physical works on some of these initiatives. Some are already completed and implemented like the board walks, which have been developed on several Langkawi islands," he said.

Khalid said the blueprint has managed to attract private investors, especially those who want to set up hotels and provide tourism-related products and services.

Under the blueprint, Langkawi is to woo investments up to RM5 billion, three million tourists and generate a revenue of RM3.8 billion by 2015.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched the blueprint in December last year, with the aim to bring about a major transformation on the island where the people will benefit from its development.

Najib had said that the initiatives outlined under the blueprint represented the government's pledges to the people, which were translated into systematic plans, supported by a RM420 million allocation announced in Budget 2012. The blueprint incorporates development programmes for the period 2011-2015 and contains initiatives covering three themes, namely products, infrastructure and enablers.

Rosy outlook for Johor hotels as theme parks spring up

Malaysian Association of Hotels says for this year, the average occupancy rate will increase to 67 per cent with an average room rate of RM170.
KUALA LUMPUR: The opening of several amusement parks in the last quarter of 2012 is expected to augur well for the hotel operators in the southern state of Johor.

Malaysian Association of Hotels’ chairman Tengku Ahmad Faizal said for this year, the average occupancy rate will increase to 67 per cent with an average room rate (ARR) of RM170.

Last year, based on a total room inventory of 15,723, the state filled 54 per cent of its available rooms and garnered an ARR of RM164.

Tengku Ahmad, in a recent interview with Business Times, said the average occupancy and rates were for the three- to five-star class hotels.
“We saw a drop in occupancy in the first 11 months of 2010 but in December, things picked up with the opening of the Johor Premium Outlets,” he said.

In December 2011, occupancy hit 81 per cent from 76 per cent in 2010 while rates rose to RM161 from RM146 in 2010.

Accordingly, Tengku Ahmad feels that the opening of Legoland on September 15 2012 followed by Hello Kitty Town, Little Big Club and LAT themed village at Puteri Harbour will help lift occupancy and rates in Johor.

Legoland is forecasting one million tourists in the first year of operations. This year, some five hotels with a total of 2,003
rooms will be added.

The hotels include KSL Resort (868), Traders Hotel (280), Renaissance Hotel (300), Granada Hotel (198) and Austin Century Hotel (322).

With the exception of KSL Resort, the remaining hotels will be launched towards the end of 2012. Iskandar Malaysia Tourism Steering Committee projected that by 2025, Johor will require
25,000 number of hotel rooms in the three- to five-star class.

Occupancy at hotels in Johor has predominantly been a split of 65 per cent and 35 per cent between business and leisure.

The opening of JPO, Legoland and other parks are expected to see the business-to-leisure guests split equally.

By Vasantha Ganesan

40 hotels set for opening in Johor

Of the numbers, almost half are expected to be built within the next five years, prompting concerns of an oversupply.
A whopping 40 new hotels, predominantly within the three- and five-star categories, are slated for opening in Johor.

Of the numbers, almost half are expected to be built within the next five years, prompting concerns of an oversupply.

Chairman of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Johor Chapter, Tengku Ahmad Faizal, said a right balance could be achieved if these openings are done in phases.

As Johor transforms itself into the amusement and theme park capital of Malaysia, there is a requirement for additional supply of hotel rooms.
Nevertheless, there is also a need for lower star-category hotels.

“Should all the hotels open according to schedule, with the opening of Legoland, followed by Hello Kitty Town, Little Big Club and LAT theme parks, room supply should be just nice.

“Looking at up to 2015, there will be sufficient rooms to cater to the expected increase in tourists,” Tengku Ahmad said.

It was reported that Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said by 2014 alone, Johor will have an additional supply of 3,000 new rooms.

“But what we need is all categories of accommodation.
We need lower-category rooms, below the three-star category to cater to the middle- and lower middle-income groups.

Serviced apartments for families are required as well,” he said.
Tengku Ahmad pointed out that all of these openings may not work in favour of the hotel operators if the rooms are not filled.

“With 40 hotel openings, and possibly more, everyone has to play their part in order to create awareness about Johor and to get the tourists to the state.

"We will surely need more international direct flights into the Senai International Airport. Otherwise, the perception that Johor is not easy to reach will remain," he said.

He added that Johor is always a difficult destination to sell, but with the new developments taking place, he hopes more travel agents will start promoting the state.

With the opening of international hotel brands like Traders Hotel, Sheraton and Aman, Tengku Ahmad expects Johor's visibility in the international scene will increase further.

However, he also said that while the hotel plans will create more jobs in the state, filling the openings and retaining staff can pose a challenge.

This is because hotel staff are easily persuaded to move to Singapore, or even from one hotel to another hotel for just an additional RM50 a month.

If there are insufficient numbers of arrivals to fill the available capacity, it will not be unusual for hotels to begin a rate war just so they can survive.

SE Asia’s very own Orlando?

SPLASHING GOOD TIME: Johor set to become amusement park capital in the Asean region with host of new attractions.

JOHOR is transforming into the biggest theme and amusement park destination in Malaysia and possibly in the Asean region, with a cluster of at least 11 leisure attractions to be based in the state.

Combined with attractions in neighbouring Singapore, industry observers said the southern region of Asia could emulate Orlando in Florida, where Disneyland provides the central attraction.

Government investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd is involved in most of the planned attractions in Johor, with at least five of them being developed by its leisure and tourism unit, Themed Attractions and Resorts (TAR) Malaysia.

In a recent interview, TAR chief executive officer Tunku Ahmad Burhanuddin said Malaysia was not competing with Singapore to promote theme parks and attractions but instead, both countries were supplementing and complementing each other.

“We want to make it the attraction capital and the number one family destination in the Asean region,” said Tunku Ahmad.

“The entire area can become a tourist destination in its own right, just like Orlando,” said TAR chief operating officer Steve Peet.

A study by Bain & Co revealed that there was a need for family-oriented parks in the region.

Ahmad said many families were visiting Malaysia but products catering to them were insufficient.

“TAR was formed (in 2009) to be a catalyst for investments into the tourism sector and to design, build and operate attractions,” he said.

It has been allocated a total of RM2.3 billion till 2015 to develop parks and attractions.

In Puteri Harbour Johor, TAR will launch two indoor attractions in Hello Kitty Town and Little Big Club.

“(But) it is not enough just to have Hello Kitty Town and Little Big Club to promote Malaysia. So, we decided to incorporate Lat, our famous cartoonist,” Ahmad said.

"Lat", which is still a working name, will be based on the kampung scene found in the Last comics. It will consist of an indoor area measuring 6,000 sq ft and offer theatres and restaurants, among others.

TAR is also working on two other theme parks - Ocean Quest and Ocean Splash - in Desaru, Johor.

Apart from TAR, other developers that will be opening theme parks in the state include the Genting Group and Radiant Starfish Bhd, the developer of Mersing Laguna.

Sunway Bhd executive director of group strategy and corporate development Sarena Cheah, meanwhile, said the company might incorporate a theme park into its Sunway Iskandar project.

TAR showcases Malaysia in a tourism park

Kuala Lumpur: Themed Attractions Malaysia, in partnership with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), will open a world-class cultural attraction called Malaysia Truly Asia Attractions in the capital in 2014.

The Malaysia Truly Asia Attractions, which forms part of the Greater KL initiative, will sit on a 26.59ha site bordered by the Tugu Peringatan, Padang Merbok, Bank Negara Malaysia’s Lanai Kijang residential complex and Istana Selangor.

This will be a one-stop centre showcasing what Malaysia is and has, that can be experienced in a few hours.

“It is an immersive interactive cultural tourism park,” Themed Attractions and Resorts Sdn Bhd (TAR)’s chief executive officer Tunku Ahmad Burhanuddin said.

TAR is the operational and management company for Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s leisure and tourism division.

TAR has a total of RM2.3 billion in investments up until 2015 to develop attractions in Malaysia.

“It will be a tourist attraction where people can see Malaysia in a nutshell,” Ahmad told Business Times in an interview.

The idea, he said, is to woo transit passengers to visit Malaysia Truly Asia Attractions. “We want them to come out (of the airport) and spend a few hours at the attraction. And we
want them to go ‘Wow’! This is what Malaysia is all about.

Next time, I come, I will stay a couple days or weeks.” Apart from cultural elements, it will include gastronomical and heritage components.

“We have a forest there, so it will include experiencing a jungle,” he said, adding that the vegetation in the Lake Gardens area will be maintained.

“This is part of the Greater KL initiative to promote KL as well as promote Malaysia as a destination,” he said. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is expected to launch the project later this year.

By Vasantha Ganesan