黄燕燕：台免签证近將落实

Warm break for Nordic tourists

By Adib Povera

LANGKAWI: For the next 13 weeks, more than 3,000 tourists from Finland will be spending their winter break here.

This was made possible after two Finland-based tour operators, Lomamatkat and Aurinmatkat, organised a direct Helsinki-Langkawi weekly chartered flight arriving here every Wednesday.

The first group of 200 tourists arrived here on board the country’s national carrier, Finnair, which landed at Langkawi International Airport at 6.50pm on Wednesday.

Present to welcome them were Tourism Ministry head of corporate communications Mona Fairuz Nordin, Tourism Malaysia’s director for international marketing, Europe, America and Oceania Datin Normasila Musa and Langkawi Development Authority deputy general manager Hanaffi Ahmad.

The success in wooing the Nordic tourists to Langkawi is also attributed to Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen’s sales mission to Finland last month.

Dr Ng had met Finland’s key industry players, comprising tour operators and members of the media, to promote Malaysia as a holiday destination.

She said her ministry was aware that the Finland market had been slow.

“My trip to Helsinki was aimed specifically at addressing the situation and to find ways to boost tourist arrivals from Finland.

“I am very happy that our visitors are here and that more will come to holiday in our country.

“I also hope that there will soon be regular flights from Finland to Malaysia,” she said in a statement.

The number of tourist arrivals from Finland had been on the rise over the past few years.

However, there was a slight decline in 2008, due in part to the global economic crisis and rising fuel prices.

Between January and August, Malaysia received a total of 14,732 tourists from Finland, representing a 9.7 per cent increase during the same period last year.

Last year, the average length of stay of each Finnish tourist was nine nights, with each tourist spending an average of RM317.70 per day.

旅遊部配套明年4月開跑 帶遊客觀賞榴槤花

（勞勿都賴16日訊）旅遊部長拿督斯里黃燕燕指出，觀賞榴槤花旅遊將于明年4月開始，希望吉隆坡旅遊社及生利村委，與旅遊部配合以設製完美的配套。

她今早在勞勿生利榴槤院與大馬旅遊部觀員、吉隆坡各旅遊社代表參觀榴槤花及榴槤后，向記者如是指出。

她說，若生利旅遊計劃成功，將推向都賴及雙溪蘭等地的小園主，以惠及全體農民。

村長黃德榮也說，村委將積极發掘新的旅遊歷史景點，將以榴槤市價半折優待代來觀賞的旅客。

“旅遊社代表可聯絡村委， 以確定榴槤花開放時間及榴槤季節，如需要將提供當地導遊服務。”

Malaysia voted 2nd Best International Tourism Destination

LOS ANGELES – Global Traveler magazine recently announced winners of their GT Tested Awards 2010, an annual snapshot of the world’s bests. Malaysia was voted as the 2nd Best International Tourism Destination in the world. Malaysia has continuously been featured at the top of this category since 2006, when the award was first introduced.

2006: Best International Tourism Destination: 1st place

2007: Best International Tourism Destination: 1st place

2008: Best International Tourism Destination: 1st place

2009: Best International Tourism Destination: 2nd place

2010: Best International Tourism Destination: 2nd place

In addition, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the main gateway to Malaysia, was voted the seventh Best Airport in the World. Malaysia Airlines ranked as the fourth Best Airline in Southeast Asia and was also ranked as the seventh for Best Airline for Onboard Service and Flight Attendants.

Penerbangan terus Finland bawa pelancong asing tiba di Langkawi

LANGKAWI 15 Dis. – Penerbangan sewa khas Finnair, iaitu syarikat penerbangan Finland hari ini memulakan penerbangan secara terus dari Helsinki ke pulau ini.

Penerbangan terus itu telah membawa seramai 223 warga asing dan tiba di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Langkawi pada pukul 6.50 petang.

Syarikat penerbangan itu dijadual membuat 13 penerbangan terus setiap minggu sehingga 2 Mac tahun depan dari Finland ke Langkawi.

Sehubungan itu, dijangka seramai 2,899 pelancong dari negara berkenaan akan tiba di Langkawi yang merupakan pintu masuk bagi membolehkan mereka mengunjungi tempat-tempat pelancongan di negara ini seperti di Kuala Lumpur, Sabah dan Sarawak.

Menteri Pelancongan, Datuk Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, dalam kenyataannya di sini memberitahu, pada tahun lalu, beliau telah membuat lawatan ke Helsinki, Finland bagi mempromosi produk pelancongan negara ini sebagai satu destinasi percutian terutama pada musim sejuk.

“Kita sedar bahawa pasaran pelancongan dari Finland adalah di bawah prestasi yang dijangkakan maka lawatan saya ke Helsinki untuk mengenalpasti masalahnya dan mencari penyelesaian meningkatkan bilangan pelancong negara asing ini.

“Saya berasa gembira melihat respons ini dan berharap 13 penerbangan sewa khas terus ini akan berjaya dan membuka ruang kepada penerbangan biasa,” katanya.

Tambah Yen Yen, Finland merupakan salah satu pasaran pelancongan yang penting kepada Malaysia kerana jumlah rakyat di negara itu adalah 5.4 juta.

Oleh itu, katanya, bilangan pelancong pasti berpotensi dan agak tinggi.

“Pada tahun ini, kementerian telah berjaya melonjak kedatangan pelancong Finland sebanyak 9.7 peratus iaitu 14,732 orang antara Januari hingga Ogos berbanding dengan 2009.

“Secara puratanya, setiap pelancong Finland telah mengunjungi Malaysia sekurang-kurangnya sembilan hari dan perbelanjaannya adalah sejumlah RM317.70 sehari,” katanya.

Dalam pada itu, Pengurus Pelancongan Lembaga Pembangunan Langkawi (Lada) Megat Shaharul Azman Abas berkata, setakat ini seramai 1.9 juta pelancong asing telah melawat negara ini dan ia meningkat sebanyak 0.1 juta berbanding dengan 1.8 juta orang pada masa sama.

“Selain Finland, rancangan penerbangan sewa khas di negara asing terutama China akan diusahakan pada tahun depan bagi meningkatkan kedatangan pelancong asing ke Pulau Langkawi,” katanya.

Sementara itu, pelancong dari Helsinki yang baru tiba di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Langkawi, Tiana Partanen, 40 berkata, dia merupakan kali pertama membuat lawatan ke Malaysia selama dua minggu.

Katanya, Malaysia merupakan destinasi yang baik dan rakyat di negara ini sangat mesra.

Oleh itu, dia memilih mengunjungi ke Pulau Langkawi bagi menikmati pemandangan indah dan berehat di sini.

“Selain itu, saya dan ahli keluarga juga mengambil kesempatan untuk mengelakkan cuaca teruk di Finland kerana kini suhu di sana adalah -20 celsius dan salji adalah bermeter tinggi.

” Maka kami mengambil keputusan untuk menyambut Hari Krismas yang berlainan di sini,” katanya.

Pada masa sama, Kris-Tiina Valolahti, 45, berkata, ini merupakan lawatan pertama kali ke Malaysia bersama dua anaknya selama dua minggu.

Jelasnya, dia tidak mempunyai rancangan di negara ini tetapi akan mendapatkan maklumat daripada kaunter Tourism Malaysia bagi mengkaji tempat-tempat yang menarik terlebih dahulu.

“Lawatan kami mudah sahaja kerana anak-anak saya merancang berenang, menyertai aktiviti menyelam dan menikmati cuaca yang cerah di negara ini,” katanya.

Warm X’mas for Finnish tourists

LANGKAWI: It will be her first Christmas away from Helsinki, Finland, this year, but Marjatta Kayhanen, 53, is looking forward to a memorable and “warm” Christmas in Malaysia.

“The sunny weather is a great change from the cold winter season back in Helsinki,” said Kayhanen who arrived at the Langkawi International Airport here yesterday.

She was one of the 223 passengers who arrived on the first of 13 direct charter flights from Helsinki to Malaysia – expected to bring in a total of 2,899 tourists into the the country till March next year.

The series of charter flights are a follow-up to Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen’s visit to Helsinki in November last year.

“I hope that this venture will prompt Finland’s aviation industry to introduce a regular direct flight to Malaysia,” said Dr Ng, who added that the ministry hoped to promote Malaysia as an ideal holiday destination especially during the winter season.

The tourists said they were looking forward to spending their two-week vacation relaxing and soaking up the sun on the many beaches in Malaysia.

“I am looking forward to go scuba diving,” said Taina Partanen, 40, adding that she planned to ask the locals in Langkawi to suggest the best place in the country to enjoy the sport.

Markku Nwtimen, 56, who arrived with his wife said it was their first time in Malaysia, adding that they had heard so much about the country from their friends.

“I heard that it is a beautiful place with warm weather and friendly people,” he said, adding that they also planned to spend five days in Kuala Lumpur before returning to Helsinki.

Charter Flights Bring In More Finnish Tourist

LANGKAWI, Dec 15 (Bernama) — The arrival of 13 direct charter flights from Helsinki, Finland to Langkawi beginning Wednesday until March 2 next year, signals a surge of arrivals from the Scandinavian and Baltic countries as well as Russia for this winter holiday season.

The first flight by Finn Air arrived at 6.45pm Wednesday at the Langkawi International Airport, carrying 223 passengers.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the direct charter flights expected to bring in 2,899 tourists to Malaysia during this period.

“We realise that the Finland market has been under performing. My trip to Helsinki in November last year was made to specifically address this problem and to find ways to boost their arrivals. I’m very happy to see this response from the trade members there,” she said in a statement, here Wednesday.

However, she also hoped that the success of this venture would prompt the aviation industry to see the potential of this route and take the necessary action to introduce a regular flight to Malaysia.

“Finland is among the important tourist markets for Malaysia. For a small country – with a population of only 5.4 million the total number of departures and the travelling population is relatively high,” she said.

She said that among the Finns, there was definitely a general interest in holidaying abroad.

“One of the challenges facing this market is the lack of direct flights connecting Finland to Malaysia. However, Malaysia is an appealing destination as it is a value-for-money holiday destination with favourable exchange rates,” she said.

Although Malaysia had been seeing increased arrivals from Finland over the years, Ng said there was a decline in numbers since 2008 due in part to the global economic crisis and rising fuel prices.

“But the efforts to boost arrivals have shown positive signs of recovery, as from January to August 2010, Malaysia received a total of 14,732 tourists from Finland, signalling a 9.7 per cent increase over the same period last year.

Among the passengers from Finland, Mira Urpulahti, 28, a dental assistant from Helsinki, said she was very excited for her first trip to Langkawi.

“This is my first time to Malaysia and we hear that the Island offers a lot of tax-free and duty-free products.

“I am looking forward to enjoying my holiday here with my younger sister and we will shop till we drop for the next one week,” she told Bernama when met at the Langkawi International Airport, here Wednesday.

– BERNAMA

黃燕燕：吸引更多遊客 打造美食變旅遊品牌

（馬六甲15日訊）旅遊部長拿督斯里黃燕燕指出，該部希望把美食塑造成重要旅遊品牌，通過美食吸引更多遊客前來我國觀光。

她說，這也讓酒家、小販及小商有更多商機及就業機會，以期提升人民生活水平，朝高收入國目標邁進。

黃燕燕昨晚在馬六甲販商聯合會，承辦的“一個大馬食全食美”街頭美食嘉年華會開幕演詞中，這么指出。她的演詞由政治秘書拿督黃邁陞，在新牛頓文化小食村舉行的嘉年華會上代讀。

黃燕燕說，我國美食展現亞洲魅力，華巫印三大民族美食，從路邊攤走進酒店，並揚名海外，遊客愛上我國多元化美食，也為國家帶來可觀收入。

她指出，許多國家都舉辦常年美食節或美食展，如悉尼美食節、東南亞國際美食節、廣州國際美食節、伯明翰國際美食節及中國國際美食節等，吸引更多遊客。

第三高旅遊收益

“餐飲業是我國重點旅遊項目之一，收益從前年87億7000萬令吉，增加到去年的92億9000萬令吉，佔我國旅遊業收益17.4%，是繼住宿及購物后的第三高旅遊收益。”

黃燕燕說，旅遊業是我國第二大外匯收入來源，為國家做出巨大貢獻，尤其在製造就業機會，賺取外匯收入及吸引外來直接投資方面。

她指出，在經濟轉型計劃下，旅遊部定下2020年吸引3600萬人次外國遊客，賺取1680億令吉收益的目標。

目前旅遊業相關行業就業人數，佔我國就業人口14%，關鍵經濟領域目標是在未來10年內，製造49萬7000個就業機會。

配合明年免税政策‧ 黄燕燕吁商家拋售商品

光明日报‧2010.12.15

黄燕燕：招3600万游客 10年创造49万旅游工作

●南洋商报

（马六甲15日讯）旅游部长拿督斯里黄燕燕医生指出，国内从事旅游业相关工作的人士，目前占就业人口总数14%。

“随着关键经济领域落实和推行，旅游业在未来10年可创造49万7000个就业机会。”

黄燕燕昨晚配合马六甲新牛顿文化小食村的一个大马食全食美街头美食嘉年华马六甲区推展仪式发表演词。由于未克岀席，讲稿由部长政治秘书拿督黄迈升代读。

她重申，政府为旅游拟定了12项旗舰计划，刺激旅游业增长，并放眼在2020年吸引3600万名游客，赚取1680亿令吉外汇收入，同时也鉴定三个能支撑旅游业增长商机，包括餐饮、交通和旅游社。

花1366亿赚1680亿

这一系列计划所需资金是1366亿令吉，其中3%即46亿令吉来自公共领域， 其余97%（1320亿令吉）则由私人界协助推动。

她指出，未来10年是旅游部最充满挑战及充满活力与动感的时期，期间必须推动五大主题旅游的12项旗舰计划。

数产品免入口税有利旅游业

黄燕燕强调，2011年财政预算案废除多项旅游产品及日用品的入口税，对旅游业未来的发展十分有利。

“去年游客到访我国的总消费额达530亿4000万令吉，其中28%或相等于150亿1100万公吉用在购物。”

不过，黄燕燕说，外国游客在新加坡的35%开销用于购物，香港更高，达57%。

盼购物达总开销35%

她强调，为了鼓励游客在我国多消费，政府已宣布免除300种游客喜欢的商品税务，同时该部每年举办三次马来西亚购物嘉年华会，把我国打造成为物有所值的购物天堂，希望在2020年，游客在我国的购物开销达总开销35%。

美食嘉年华由马六甲贩商联合会承办。该会会长黄树党、州议员拿督賴明忠、蔡健华、丹斯里陈清水与拿督江雪霞等皆到场享用美食。