MALAYSIA COURTS HONG KONG'S UPPER-END TOURISTS

By Manik Mehta

HONG KONG, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- Flanked by an array of marketing and public
relation measures, Tourism Malaysia is aggressively courting upper-end tourists
from Hong Kong which itself is making a strong pitch to attract foreign tourists
including Malaysians.

Zaliha Zainuddin, Tourism Malaysia's Hong Kong-based director, sounded
upbeat about attracting Hong Kong tourists who, she maintained, were drawn by
Malaysia's picturesque landscape and a variety of tourist attractions.

Describing Hong Kong as a "mature upmarket", Zaliha said that Hong Kong
tourists spend more money than their counterparts from mainland China in
Malaysia.

"Hong Kong is a demanding upper-end market," Zaliha told Bernama. Tourism
Malaysia's Hong Kong office has been doing a great deal of campaigning in Hong
Kong, including the television drama series 'Born Rich' which, Zaliha claimed,
was a 'big success'.

The east Malaysian state of Sabah with its pristine waters, white sandy
beaches, unique marine and wild life as well as sophisticated infrastructure
conducive to attracting tourism, exudes a strong appeal to Hong Kong tourists.

SABAH IS SO POPULAR

Indeed, Sabah is so popular that there are direct flights from Hong Kong to
Kota Kinabalu in response to the growing demand from Hong Kong tourists.

"We are confident that we can bring tourist traffic for the niche segments
of tourism such as diving, golfing, and others to Sipadan. The average Hong Kong
tourist thinks of food, golf, diving and shopping when visiting any destination.
Malaysia offers all these attributes," she said.

According to feedback gathered by Tourism Malaysia's Hong Kong office, the
'Pavilion' shopping complex in Kuala Lumpur was 'extremely popular' with Hong
Kong tourists.

"In fact, Kuala Lumpur with all its interesting historic, cultural and
culinary attributes, was itself a popular destination for many groups of foreign
destinations," Zaliha said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has enhanced its connectivity with Hong Kong, with a
number of airlines such as MAS, Cathay Pacific, Air Asia, Dragon Air, increasing
the flight frequency with the former British colony.

According to estimated arrival figures, Hong Kong, China and Macau together
accounted for more than one million tourists in 2009 in Malaysia, a 7.3 percent
growth over 2008.

LEISURE AND BUSINESS TRAVELLERS

Hong Kong visitors to Malaysia, on the other hand, comprised a mix of
leisure and business travellers, accounting a 60:40 ratio.

"Yes, we are quite upbeat about tourism from Hong Kong to Malaysia," Zaliha
said.

Even as Malaysia is positioning itself to lure more Hong Kong tourists, the
former British colony is equally interested to attract both leisure and business
travellers from South East Asia, including Malaysia, to Hong Kong.

Gilly Wong, who heads the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions
(MICE) operations at the Hong Kong Tourism Board, explained the HKTB's MICE
strategy.

"MICE visitors to Hong Kong from around the globe, including Malaysia, are
very important for us. These are, essentially, high-spending buinesss travellers
who also invest here. We have had robust traffic from several Asian countries,
including Malaysia," Wong said in an interview with Bernama.

MICE TRAVELLERS

Hong Kong recorded 3.5 million business travellers in 2009, of whom 38
percent were MICE travellers, said Zaliha.

"According to our estimates, an average MICE business traveller spends about
US$1,000 for a two to three day visit for a two/three day visit, excluding
expenses on hotel, airfare and other incidentals.

"The total MICE revenue generated in 2009 amounted to about US$1.85
billion," Wong said.

Perhaps, Tourism Malaysia's strategic planners could take a leaf from Hong
Kong's efforts to attract cash-rich business travellers, including the Mice
visitors.

Although Hong Kong suffered a 15.4 percent drop in its overall arrivals in
2009 due to the global economic slump, the number of MICE visitors stabilised in
the same year.
-- BERNAMA