Value For Money Is A Draw For Foreign Tourists

By Zulkiple Ibrahim KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- During the recent long weekend holiday inconjunction with the Prophet's Birthday and Thaipusam celebrations, this writer had the opportunity to visit the hot springs in Sungai Klah, located 10km away from Sungkai in Perak (north Malaysia). Sungkai is about 70 minutes drive north from Kuala Lumpur via the North-South Highway. There was a huge holiday crowd at the Sungai Klah Hot Springs Park including a number of foreigners made up of several Singaporean families and a couple from Canada. "This place is great for family day weekend retreat away from the concrete jungle in the city," said architect Bernie Lim from Singapore. VISITING MALAYSIA Lim said: "We come to Malaysia several times in a year to visit beautiful and exotic places in this country, such as Cameron Highlands, National Park and Malacca". According to Lim, usually they will drive up the Malaysian Peninsula from Singapore, as having their own transport will make it easier for them to move from one tourist destination to another. "We love coming to places such as Sungai Klah as there is a lot of greenery here. The hot springs in Sungai Klah is a great place to rest your mind and body. "Back to nature -- that is what I call this place. It is peaceful and refreshing. We have been here several times. "Food, services and goods in Malaysia are much cheaper compared to Singapore. Of course the foreign exchange helps," confided Lim's wife, Agnes.(One Singapore dollar is about RM2.40). The Felda Residences Hot Springs Sungai Klah is operated by Felda Travel Sdn Bhd. Felda Travel has operations in other resorts namely in Trolak (Perak), Sungai Tekam (Pahang), Tanjung Leman in Mersing (Johor), Port Dickson (Negeri Sembilan) and Kuala Terengganu. HOMESTAY Lim also said he and his family, as well as friends from the island state, like the homestay packages available in the country. Based on statistics by the Malaysian Tourism Ministry, many foreign tourists have opt for the homestay packages. Some 25,800 Singaporeans opted for homestays all over Malaysia in 2010. The number made up 52.5 per cent of the more than 49,000 foreigners who took up homestay packages for that year. The others were tourists from Japan at 22.4 per cent, or almost 11,000 and Europe at 9.3 per cent (more than 4,500). Johor had the most tourists who opted for homestays, at 23,300, followed by Selangor (5,600), Sabah (5,500) and Pahang (2,500). GOOD COMMUNICATION, TRANSPORT FACILITIES Canadian engineer Mike Henderson and his wife Laura, met in Sungai Klah said, Malaysia has a blend of natural and modern facilities. "Malaysia has many places for nature lovers but the country also features excellent telecommunication facilities and infrastructure, good mobile telephone and Internet (broadband) connection, as well as excellent airports, highways and roads. A blend of the natural and modern environment attracts holiday-makers. "The cities have excellent hotels and shopping complexes while the countryside has many scenic and beautiful beaches, plus lush greenery that is good for eco-tourism. "The bottom line is that Malaysia has a unique geography that augurs well for tourists who love the natural environment but also need modern facilities," said Henderson, adding that even though Malaysia is a small country, this makes travelling from one tourist destination to another easy. "From one place to another, we can use land or air travel," explained Henderson. VALUE FOR MONEY This writer also made a trip to a department store in the city during the weekend holiday and met several tourists from West Asia. One of them was Omar Saeed, a civil servant and father of two from Oman. Omar is here pursuing a master's degree at a university. "My salary in Oman is Oman Riyal (OMR) 1,700. In Malaysia that amount is close to RM14,000," said Omar who rents a house for his family in Pantai Hill Park here. (One Oman Riyal is equal to about RM7.85). Because of the favourable foreign exchange rate, Omar said, living in Malaysia is 'heaven-sent' for him and his family. He also loves to dine on seafood in places such as Pulau Indah in Port Klang and Bagan Lalang (Sepang, Selangor state of Malaysia). "Malaysia has so many beautiful places and my family will miss this country when we return to Oman," he says. Businessman Ahmaedi Safwaan from Kuwait who was also at the shopping complex agreed. "Malaysia is beautiful, goods cheap but Arab food is quite difficult (to get)," said Ahmaedi in halting English. (One Kuwait Dinar (KWD) is about EM10.89.) SHOPPING HAVEN According to a survey by a major credit card firm, some 80 per cent of foreign tourists came to Malaysia to shop. Malaysian travel statistics reveal that each foreign tourist spends at least 30 per cent of their expenditure on lodging. In 2010, some 24.6 million tourists came to Malaysia, and the Tourism Ministry expects 36 million tourists to visit the country by the year 2020. The ministry is targeting to lure more tourists from Russia, India, China, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Belgium, Holland and West Asia. According to a media report, Malaysian Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen said that Malaysia has been ranked as one of the top travel destinations in the world, and the tourism sector is now the fifth-largest economic contributor to the country. The minister also told reporters that Malaysia is ranked ninth by United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) for tourist arrivals. -- BERNAMA