Brunei's Empire Hotel voted ‘Best Host Venue' on Asian Golf Tour

Empire Hotel and Country Club has been voted "Best Host Venue" by the region's top golfers on the 2005 Asian Tour, according to a press release.

The resort topped a poll of 28 other venues on its debut as a host of the Asia's premier professional golf tournament.

Key voting criteria for the 18-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed championship golf course overlooking the South China Sea were the course, facilities, caddies and staff.

Australian Terry Pilkadaris, who won the inaugural Brunei Golf Open, said, "This is the best place, golf course and hotel wise, that we've been too. It's beautiful."

The Asian Tour returns to the Empire Hotel and Country Club in 2006, on August 24-27.

Empire Hotel general manager Anne Busfield said, "We are delighted the Asian Tour players enjoyed their visit and look forward to welcoming them back in 2006."

Another recent sporting celebrity guest, Formula One racing driver Jenson Button, also named the Empire Hotel and Country Club as his favourite hotel in the world in an interview.

Designed by one of the world's golfing greats, Brunei's top golf course is rated among the best in Asia with lush, scenic fairways catering for golfers at every level. The par 71 championship is considered a "thinker's" challenge with tight fairways and fast greens skirted by jungle, cavernous ravines and a lot of water.

The resort has been collecting regional and international awards since it opened and was voted "Best New Resort" by Travel Trade Gazette Asia in 2001. TTG Asia subsequently named Empire Hotel in as "Best Independent Hotel", and in 2004 and 2005 as the region's "Best Resort Hotel".

Competing on the global stage in the prestigious World Travel Awards, the Empire Hotel and Country Club has been named "Asia's Leading Resort", "Brunei's Leading Hotel", "Asia's Leading Golf Resort" and, for three consecutive years, the "World's Leading Presidential Suite" for its breathtaking Emperor Suite, which is one of the world's largest at 666 square metres and has its own private indoor swimming pool and self-contained cinema.

Source: Borneo Bulletin

Sabah expects over two million tourists in 2006

By YATIM TAUBATAL ANDAM

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah expects to receive more than two million tourists this year.

Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Karim Bujang said the estimate was based on the significant increase in tourist arrivals in 2005.

Some 1.5 million tourists visited Sabah between January and October last year, more than the 1.4 million recorded during the whole of 2004.

Karim said the state government through the ministry have carried out various promotions to attract tourists especially from Australia, China and countries in the Asian region.

He added that more comprehensive promotions would be organised during the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 to attract more tourists to the country, especially Sabah.

Karim also stressed the need for everyone including non-governmental organisations and those in the tourism industry to be courteous and friendly in effort to attract more tourists to the state.

“The people must support the government’s efforts in developing the tourism industry which is contributing towards economic development through the inflow of foreign exchange,” he said.

“And we must help realise the objectives of Visit Malaysia Year 2007,” he added.

Meanwhile, Karim said the Kuala Lumpur-Sandakan and Kuala Lumpur-Tawau flights operated by AirAsia would also help bring more tourists to Sabah.

Courtesy of New Sabah Times

Tourism plan for Gaya Island

By JENNE LAJIUN

KOTA KINABALU: Plans are afoot to make Pulau Gaya another tourist spot in Sabah.

Putatan MP Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh said the federal government was planning to develop the island for tourism under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).

Presently, he said the island was not attractive for promotion by tourism operators.

“The island has historical values that might prove attractive to tourists. It was once the hiding place of Mat Salleh, our famous warrior who fought the British in the late 1800s,” he said.

“He burned down the little town built on the island in 1878,” he added.

Dr Marcus visited Pulau Gaya with the Sabah Federal Development director Dato Ismail Haji Wadin and City Hall’s development department director, Alijus Haji Sipil.

They were shown the site where the town once stood.

According to him, a memorial could be built at the site to showcase the historical photographs and artefacts to lure tourists.

“The Mat Salleh historical sites elsewhere in the state had attracted a lot of tourists and I think the one on the island can attract tourists as well,” he added.

Meanwhile, Alijus said City Hall has received RM$1 million from the state government to install a garbage disposal system on the island.

He also said the island’s plan, which included housing lots and a road system (50 kilometres in length) to connect all the villages was already completed.

“But we are still studying the cost to implement the plan,” he said

Courtesy of New Sabah Times

Higher fee for foreign visitors to Sabah Museum Complex

BY MUGUNTAN VANAR

FOREIGN visitors to the Sabah Museum Complex are forking out more in entrance fees with effect of Jan 1.

The fee for foreigners is RM15, RM10 more compared to the previous rate of RM5, a museum statement said.

However, the entrance fee of RM2 for Malaysians remains unchanged.

The new fee for foreigners is also being imposed at Agnes Keith House in Sandakan and Batu Tulug Museum in Kinabatangan.

However, entrance is free for the public visiting several historical and archaeological sites under the care of Sabah Museum.

These include Sandakan Heritage Museum and Tun Abdul Razak Memorial both in Sandakan, Bukit Tengkorak in Semporna, Murut Cultural Museum in Kampung Pulong, Tenom, Datu Paduka Mat Salleh Memorial in Kampung Tibabar, Tambunan, and Panoramic Mansion House in Kinarut

The entrance fee for the musuem was introduced in 2001 and the increase was aimed at assisting it in plans to upgrade exhibitions and facilities to make it a key tourist attraction.

The upgrades include restructuring the main entrance to the Science Centre that houses Sabah Art Gallery and galleries on broadcasting technology, railway technology and Shell petroleum.

The museum is holding an exhibition on the Atkinson Clock Tower that features several photographs and write-ups on the history of Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu), named after a district officer who served the British Government in North Borneo (Sabah).

The museum complex is open daily from 9am to 5pm, except Fridays.

Source: The Star

Chinese translator services to begin at 4 Malaysian airports including Sabah

By Arman Gunsika

KOTA KINABALU - International airports in four states, including Sabah, will provide Mandarin-fluent translator services beginning January 3.

The service, previously only provided at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport will also be made available at the immigration check-in counters at the international arrival halls in Sarawak, Penang and Johor.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho said efforts are currently underway to ascertain the exact number of translators required to be stationed at the international airport in Langkawi. As for the KLIA, the number of translators will be increased by five to a total of 21 this year.

"Eight local Chinese translators have been hired on six-month contracts to work at each of four international airports.

"They will be working on shift to help arriving Chinese to go through the processing of travel documentation beside introducing them to tourist attractions in the respective states," he told newsmen after presenting appointment letters to new translators here.

Tan said the translators will be plain-clothed but wearing jackets and nametags to make it easy for Chinese tourists to identify and approach them.

He said the ministry will look into including them as staff of government services, so as to make it a permanent job. The extension of professional translator services is very important part of the government's efforts to attract the Chinese tourists.

It followed the controversial ear-squat incident at a police state in the peninsula, which came to surface in November last year and affected the total number of Chinese tourist arrivals in the country, dropping by about 48 per cent or about 300,000 tourists.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin