Making KK MAS’ eastern hub great boost to Sabah hotel industry

KOTA KINABALU: The making of Kota Kinabalu as the eastern hub of Malaysia Airlines is a great boost to the hotel industry in the state capital in particular and Sabah in general.

Speaking after the breaking of fast with reporters, Thomas More Willie, General Manager of Beverly Hotel, said, “With Malaysia Airlines making Kota Kinabalu as the second hub, we have flights between Kota Kinabalu and Tokyo three times weekly and four times from South Korea.”

Besides Malaysia Airlines, Korean Airlines, Asiana and Eastern Jet also operate and land at the KKIA.

Leveraging on Kota Kinabalu’s strategic location as an ideal gateway to promote travels to and from China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Australia, Malaysia Airlines has picked Kota Kinabalu as its second national hub, after the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

For the first quarter of 2010, Beverly Hotel experienced slower growth than the corresponding period of last year. This was due to the oversupply of (hotel) rooms and the deferment of in-house seminars of government bodies.

“The extension of the KKIA runaway has affected the chartered flights as the airport is closed to air traffic from 12.00 midnight to 6.00am,” Willie said, explaining that chartered flights normally land late at night. “That’s why the fares are cheaper.”

However, with increased in regular flights, the oversupply of room situation has eased.

Business had picked up in the second quarter, said Willie, as more government in-house seminars were held, and the higher frequency of regular flights had offset the loss of chartered flights.

Continue reading at: Making KK MAS’ eastern hub great boost to Sabah hotel industry
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Grand festival to shine spotlight on Belait District

By Liza Mohd

In a bid to encourage locals to spend their December holidays in Brunei and at the same time attract tourists over, the Belait District Office in collaboration with all mukim and village counsultative councils will be organising a month-long tourism project called the 'Cheo-Cheo Le Long Belait' or Come to Kuala Belait Festival.

Special Duties Officer at the Belait District Office Morni bin Haji Zakaria said the grand festival in December hopes to promote the district through various interesting activities.

The festival will kick start with the sale of mukim and village products from December 3 to 5 to promote 'One Village, One Product' by the Kg Sungai Teraban group. Similar product sale will also be held by member of Kampong Pandan C from December 10 to 12; Kampung Lumut I from December 17 to 19; and MPK Lorong Tiga Seria from December 24 to 26.

Various traditional and homemade products will be available for sale during the festival so members of the public should take the opportunity to get a hold of these products as they are typically not available at local convenience or department stores in the country, said Morni.

Additionally, there will be a beach festival at Pantai Kechil Sungai Liang from December 10 to 12.

The district office is making efforts to promote the beach recreational area by organising 'Tamu Bermuafakat' and allowing small business operators to set up stalls selling food and drinks from October 1 this year.

The district office will be holding cultural shows to promote various ethnic groups in the district, such as Melayu Belait community on December 4, the Iban community on December 18, and also a combination of invited ethnic groups on the evening of December 25.

To enliven the year-end holiday, there will also be a tug-of-war competition open to tourists and foreigners on December 12. In addition to that, the Mukim and Village Institute Section will be holding a Belait Festival where go-kart and remote control car enthusiasts in the district can compete on December 19.

Meanwhile, thrill-seekers can take on challenging sports activities at the 'Cabaran Event' on December 26. The month-long activities will wrap with a Gala Night on December 31.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
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Response to usage of MAS self check-in kiosk improving

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has received good response from its customers towards the self check-in kiosk and is encouraged to introduce the system to other main domestic airports in the country.

MASwings managing director Dato Mohd Salleh Ahmad Tabrani said that the check-in kiosk which has been introduced in airports in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu since June this year has been receiving a good response from passengers.

Salleh said that more than 49,000 passengers in Kota Kinabalu and 25,000 passengers in Kuching have used the kiosk system since it was introduced two months ago and the pickup rate is increasing.

“For early July, as many as 25 percent of our passengers have used the check-in kiosk in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. In August, this has increased to 30 percent in both airports,” he said.

He said this to reporters after a presentation ceremony where 10 lucky winners, who were picked from among 30,000 passengers in July as part of Malaysia Airlines/MASwings’ self check-in kiosk usage campaign, were given free tickets to any destination in Sabah at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) yesterday.

“If the response and the acceptance of our passengers improve, we will consider introducing the same system to other airports in Malaysia…..probably the next airport that we would look at is Miri because the volume of the traffic is quite big in Miri,” he said.

Among the winners, Khairrul Aminus Kamaruddin, a 34 year old government officer, has been a user of the check-in kiosk as he frequently flies around the country every month.

“In July alone, I flew three times to Tawau and I managed to avoid the queue since I started using this,” he said.

Continue reading at: Response to usage of MAS self check-in kiosk improving
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Chinese-Australians does not know Sabah and Sarawak in detail

Malaysia has found a powerful tourism ally in National Liaison Council of Chinese-Australians chairman Anson Hong.

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 said 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.

Continue reading at: Chinese-Australians does not know Sabah and Sarawak in detail
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Celebrating independence with art and culture at the Sarawak Cultural Village

EVERY Aug 31, Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) comes alive with a colourful celebration of National Day.

Yesterday was no exception as 40 SCV staff members comprising administrative personnel, security guards, musicians and dancers paraded around the grounds with the national and state flags.

They also shouted Merdeka seven times.

The parade symbolised Malaysia’s multi-ethnic harmony as those involved came from different communities and were dressed in their traditional costumes.

SCV general manager Jane Lian Labang said the celebration was a way for the staff to show their appreciation for being Malaysian.

At the same time, she said, it gave a glimpse of Malaysian unity and independence to tourists.

“Every year, we celebrate National Day in a big way. It’s an opportunity for our staff, especially the younger ones, to appreciate the sacrifices and struggles of our leaders in the past to gain independence.

“Tourists are invited to join in the celebrations and they usually respond with enthusiasm,” she said.

Continue reading at: Celebrating independence with art and culture at the Sarawak Cultural Village
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