Tourism Malaysia Using Frankfurt International Zoo To Promote Malaysia

By Manik Mehta FRANKFURT (German), May 28 (Bernama) -- As a rare gesture, Tourism Malaysia's Frankfurt office has been allowed to profile Malaysia's wildlife and nature at the reputed Frankfurt International Zoo which has a combined population of 18 orang utans. The strategy of arousing public interest in Malaysia's wildlife, using the zoo as a vehicle for promotion of tourism, has been lauded by tourism promotion experts here. Indeed, there is tremendous public interest in the orang utan, which can help further enhance the level of interest and, thus, also boost tourism traffic to Malaysia. The pitch will be made to children who, accompanied by their parents, are a common sight at the zoo, particularly on weekends. Tourism Malaysia will make a presentation on Sunday (May 27), enticing children, helped by their parents, to participate in a quiz game called "Discover Malaysia and its Fascinating Nature," said Syed Yahya Syed Othman, the director of the Frankfurt office of Tourism Malaysia in an interview with Bernama. The quiz will include questions about Malaysia's wildlife and its natural environment; the questions will be posed to children who, according to the Tourism Malaysia's Frankfurt office, can induce their parents to take them to the real habitat of the animals, particularly the orang utan. "Our strategy is very simple. We are trying to get children actively involved in the quiz game and also in the wildlife of Malaysia which has the perfecting setting of the zoo. "Once children see the orang utan in the zoo, and after participating in our quiz games, they will ask their parents to take them to the natural habitat of the animal," he said. Syed Yahya said in the course of their participation, Tourism Malaysia will seek the active participation of the children and, also the parents. "This will enable them to not only see the animals but also motivate them to visit places in Malaysia where the orang utan live," he said. The full-day event could well open up new avenues of opportunities for promoting tourism to Malaysia. "Europeans, particularly Germans appreciate nature and environment. We have organised a treasure hunt game for the children and parents can, of course, also join in. The children will provide answers to questions put to them, and this also indicate their level of knowledge about Malaysia," Syed Yahya said, adding that the first prize is a free flight to Malaysia for two persons. Syed Yahya said that Germany was a "promising market" with tremendous business potential inherent in nature tourism. The idea of stepping up interest in Malaysia by organising an event at the zoo has, meanwhile, travelled far and wide, reaching Malaysian envoys in other countries as well. Syed Yahya revealed that he had been asked by Malaysian ambassadors in Budapest (Hungary) and Prague (Czech Republic) to organise similar events at the zoos in the capitals of the two countries. Syed Yahya, who recently held a meeting with German hoteliers inducing them to join in promotional work in conjunction with Tourism Malaysia, said that the idea of organising a wildlife quiz event was also well timed because of the success of the film "We bought the zoo" which has aroused public interest in wild life and nature. -- BERNAMA