Response From Hotel Industry Shows VMY 2014 Received Well

KOTA BAHARU (Kelantan, Malaysia), Feb 25 (Bernama) -- Feedback from the hotel industry on encouraging number of guest arrivals in the first two months is an indication that the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 had received good response. Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said he was informed that the number of guests in some hotels was "record-breaking". "Some hotels said that the number of guests for the first two months exceeded 90 per cent, well past the norm. In fact, some said it was record-breaking. "This is a sign of the success of VMY 2014 which is very good although the actual number of guests and tourist arrivals is not known yet," he said after launching the "VMY 2014 with Firefly in the Blue Skies" Campaign at the Sultan Ismail Petra airport in Pengkalan Chepa, here Monday morning. He said for instance, there were now many tourists in Kuala Lumpur, especially from China, and was sure that the targeted 28 million tourists visiting Malaysia would be achieved by end of the year. He said there were more than 1,000 local products found in all the states that could be "sold" to foreign and local tourists. "I will go to all the states to look at these products which will be marketed to tourists and we hope that all parties would give their full support to help the ministry," he said. Meanwhile, he was happy with the move by Firefly which supported the ministry by having its own VMY 2014 promotion and was confident that such promotions would benefit both parties. "I understand that right now, about 126,000 people use Firefly and an estimated 1.5 million passengers will use it for its flights to Singapore, Thailand," he said. As for the issue of a Tourism officials detention in Sweden, Azizul Raheem Awaluddin, Mohamed Nazri said at the moment, the ministry does not intend to send a replacement until the outcome of the court case. "He is innocent until proven and we will not send a replacement to take over his place since there is a deputy to carry out his duties," he said. Azizul has been working in Sweden for the past three years ago and had served the Ministry of Tourism and Culture since 2000. He and his wife, Shalwati Norshal, a teacher on unpaid leave, were now on trial at the Solna District Court in Stockholm for allegedly beating their children. Also present at the ceremony were Chairman of the Kelantan Committee of Culture, Tourism and Heritage Md Anizam Abdul Rahman and Firefly Chief Executive Officer Ignatius Ong. -- BERNAMA