The smartphone applications, developed by MoAd Technologies, will incorporate global positioning system (GPS) enabled Google maps, photo galleries and even phrase book features.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen will launch the digital marketing application on Sept 29, at an event jointly held with Maxis Communications.

MoAd Technologies said in a statement yesterday the multimedia applications would boost marketing efforts, and allow tourists easier access to information during their stay in the country.

“Smart phones have gained tremendous popularity. Indeed, it is the fastest growing mobile phone segment,” the statement said.

In an instructional video available at Tourism Malaysia’s homestay promotions website, go2homestay.com, one of the coolest features demonstrated is the phrase book.

Users will be able to select sentences like, “Where is the closest eatery?” in English, and have the application voice it out in Bahasa Malaysia.

Adding more input and output languages are future possibilities.

Other features include entries on places of interests, coupled with GPS technology that allows turn-by-turn directions. It is worth pointing out the applications also include a built-in, video-calling feature.

The feature, which connects to the Tourism Ministry, allows prospective international clients to communicate directly with homestay operators visually.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the Thai operators have to be licensed with the Tourism Authority of Thailand before they can apply for the permit, costing RM50 each time.

“As far as we are concerned, we will allow Thai van operators to come in with tourists as long as they are the registered with the Thai authority.

“The operators will have to apply for the permit through our ministry’s office in Alor Setar,” she said.

“It (the ruling) is to make sure the tourists are protected and everything is accountable and transparent,” she told Malaysian reporters during her official visit to Thailand.

Dr Ng said one of her main tasks during her visit to Thailand was to address the van and bus operators issue and explain the situation.

“They (van and bus operators) always have problems at the border, so we are here to discuss and build a good relationship,” she said.

It was reported that about 30 to 40 Thai bus and van operators had pitched a tent along the main road about 1km from the Thai immigration checkpoint in May to stop and turn away Malaysian-registered buses and vans carrying passengers into the kingdom.

Malaysian consul-general in Song­khla Mohd Aini Atan was reported as saying that he had been working closely with the Thai government to find a solution to the problems that led to the blockade.

He said the issuance of summonses by the Road Transport Depart­ment on Thai van and bus operators for ferrying tourists to Malaysia was an old issue.

Dr. Ng said tour operators in Malaysia should collaborate more with their counterparts in southern Thailand to boost tourist traffic between Penang and Langkawi in Malaysia and Phuket in Thailand.

“Malaysia and Thailand have a huge potential for such partnership as both have their own distinct tourism products, despite their historical and geographical ties”, she said.

Dr. Ng cited Malaysia’s ecotourism, with its famed 130 million years old virgin rainforest and rich biodiversity, as well as its fascinating shopping experience as among the products that could attract tourists to Malaysia

The comments were made in Phuket yesterday, September 2, at an event in honor of the commitment and long-term support by local Thai tour operators and tourism organizations in promoting cross border travel.

Dr. Ng said the increasing number of direct flights between Malaysian cities and Phuket provided advantages for tour operators in both countries to market each others destinations, providing a better travel experience for visitors.

Dr. Ng particularly emphasized the historical link between Penang and Phuket and the unique Peranakan culture as something that travel agents in both countries should promote more.

“We hope that through such collaboration, tourists who visit Langkawi and Penang will also visit Phuket and likewise visitors to Phuket will also come to Malaysia”, Dr. Ng said.

By John Le Fevre

Thailand Travel News for September 04, 2010

The new condition is expected to be fully enforced after the Aidilfitri celebration, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

She said only tourist vehicles registered with Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) can apply for the Tourism Malaysia permit in order to ferry tourists into Malaysia.

“They must be registered with TAT before they can apply for the permit from us to make sure they are protected and there is transparency,” she told Malaysia reporters here, Saturday.

This new ruling came into place following dissatisfaction from Thai vehicle operators in May who complained that they were frequently fined by Road Transport Department (RTD) when ferryign tourists into Malaysia.

Dr Ng, who is on a working visit here, said some of the tour operators, especilally those in southern Thailand were unclear about the new condition and that she had used the opportunity (of the visit) to meet and explain to them about the matter.

She said the new condition was not meant to create inconvenience to Thai tourists, but rather to ensure that they were protected and to avoid abuse from irresponsible quarters.

She added that Tourism Malaysia had been in constant talks with industry players in Thailand and related enforcement agencies in Malaysia since May to iron out any irregularities.

“I want to reaffirm our commitment to the tour operatiors here that we will continue to support tourism industry operators,” she said.

She explained that TAT registered tourist vehicles could apply for the permit at the Tourism Malaysia’s office in Alor Setar and the cost per entry was RM50.

The implementation of the new condition was also to standardize the regulation for foreign vehicles entering MAlaysia from its border with Singapore in the south, she said.

She said from January to June this year, a total of 911,000 Thai tourists entered the country via the Thai-Malaysia border.

on another development, Dr Ng said the ministry was also moving into promoting Malaysia as a preferred shopping destination to the Thais.

She said among the highlightas were the three major shopping carnivals held annually and merchandise sold in Malaysia were VAT (value added tax) free.

– BERNAMA

她說，屆時僅有向泰國旅遊執法當局登記的車輛，才能向大馬旅遊局申請准證。

“這是為了確保他們受到保護，並更具透明度。”

部長今日向隨團前往普吉島的媒體指出，這項條件已應用在從新加坡載送遊客進入我國的車輛。

泰國旅遊巴士業者曾投訴，在載送遊客到馬來西亞時，經常被陸路交通局罰款。但黃燕燕認為，這些業者不明白我國規則。

她說，泰國車輛可以在亞羅士打的大馬旅遊局申請准證，每次入境費為50令吉。

今年半首年，共有91萬1000名泰國遊客通過邊境進入我國觀光。

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said Malaysia and Thailand should not view themselves as rivals, competiting for a share of the tourism market.

“I see opportunities for great collaboration between Malaysia and Thailand.

“I hope to see those tourists who visit Phuket also dropping by at Penang and Langkawi. Similarly, those visiting Malaysia can go over to Phuket as well,” she told reporters during an official visit here Friday.

Dr Ng said such cooperation could further boost tourism in both countries, particularly inorthern Malaysia and southern Thailand.

“Both the countries have close relations and historical ties, especially with the people in the southern region of Thailand,” she said, adding that for example, the Phuket Thai Peranakan shared a unique bond with many Peranakan in Penang and Malacca.

Dr Ng said that accessibility, such as regular direct flights between the two countries, would help to forge better cooperation.

She also said some 1.4 million people from Thailand visited Malaysia last year, the third highest after Singapore and Indonesia.

Dr Ng said tourism was an important sector for Malaysia, providing 500,000 jobs and involving 14% of the local workforce.

“We hope to strengthen the sector and increase the percentage of Malaysians working in the industry to 25%,” she said.

Earlier, Dr Ng launched an exhibition by Thai photographers, featuring tourist attractions in Malaysia.

The minister also presented recognition awards to 26 travel agents and members of the tourism council and business federations from southern Thailand for their contributions to local tourism.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said Malaysia and Thailand had a huge potential for such partnerships as both had their own distinct tourism products although the share close historical and geographical ties.

She cited Malaysia’s ecotourism, with its famed 130-million-year-old virgin rainforest and rich biodiversity, as well as its fascinating shopping experience as among the factors that could attract tourists.

“I see opportunities for greater collaboration and cooperation between Malaysia and Thailand in tourism industry.

“They can look into ways on how to package products that will benefit both sides,” she told Malaysian reporters at an event in honour of the commitment and long-term support of local Thai tour operators and tourism organisations, here last night.

Ng arrived here yesterday for a six-day visit to Thailand.

She also urged tour operators to take advantage of the increasingly frequent direct flights from major cities in Malaysia to Phuket to work on such partnerships.

She added that the historical link between Penang and Phuket on the uniquely rich Peranakan culture should also be promoted.

“We hoped that through such collaboration, tourists who visit Langkawi and Penang will also visit Phuket and likewise visitors to Phuket will also come to Malaysia,” she said.

She also declared open the “Malaysia Through Eyes of the Thais” photography exhibition, featuring 15 photographs of Malaysian landscapes and landmarks taken by eight Thai photographers.

The minister also visited the Phuket Peranakan community and walked along the Peranakan trail in the old section of Phuket town. — Bernama

He has promised to help promote tourism in Malaysia among his more than a million members.

Hong, who owns a Chinese newspaper company in Australia and heads five major associations with influence over 120 national organisations, is also a Justice of Peace in South Australia.

“We know Kuala Lumpur. We have heard about Borneo but not Sarawak or Sabah in detail. You have the biggest cave in the world? We would love to see that,” he told The Star here last week.

Hong was one of the VVIPs invited for a luncheon with Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen during her stop here as part of her tourism mission to New Zealand and Australia.

Hong said in the state of Victoria alone the Council of Chinese-Australians had more than 400,000 members and had links, among others, in China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

“I will help to promote Malaysia among my association members. Malaysia is still very new to most of us. We have a lot of members who visit China, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Europe and United States every year.

“I am sure they would love to include Malaysia among their travel destinations if we can give them enough publicity about the places of interest,” Hong said.

He said Malaysia had several distinct advantages that it should promote extensively if it wanted to draw more tourists.

He said that among them were the currency exchange rate, diverse culture and races, security, favourable climate year-round, ease of communication, good transportation and accommodation, and excellent facilities.

“The Australian government provides financial grants to our organisations every year to be used for our overseas travel. Our members go overseas for convention, meetings, excursions, adventure tours, golf, mahjong and even pingpong tournaments.

“We have money to spend. What we look for are new places of interest. I am sure we can find many new destinations in Malaysia that will be very interesting to us,” he added.

Hong said Dr Ng’s visit was very useful as she had explained in detail what the states in Malaysia had to offer.

Asked what was the most negative thing he had heard about Malaysia, he said he had heard allegations of “widespread deforestation, illegal logging, wildlife abuse and land disputes with forest people”.

Hong said these issues were very sensitive among tourists and must be addressed comprehensively.