RAUB OF ALL PLACES

The quaint town of Raub in Pahang used to be the hub of Communist Terrorist in the country.. The CTs as they were known before used to ride in their motorcycles to the hills of nearby Frasers Hills to attend platoon briefings or training courses. Nowadays different types of CTs are going to Putrajaya instead.
For this reason it is believed that the Tourism Ministry is preparing a blueprint to promote Raub of all places as a tourism destination. Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen  who is also the MP of the area said the Raub Integrated Tourism Development Blueprint would improve the livelihood and employment opportunities for the locals the decendants of CTs included.
“It is my mission to develop Raub as an integrated tourism district because of its abundant natural resources and good accessibility. Moreover, there are two well-known home-stays in Sungai Pasu and Gali Hilir,” she said when opening the East Coast Economic Region Development Council empowering programme for Raub district here yesterday. 

Dr Ng said Raub district would also have 27 projects to develop tourism and upgrade facilities worth RM15.87mil under the Ninth and 10th Malaysia Plan. She said the ministry had also picked Kampung Sungai Pasu as a 21st century village with access to WiFi connection while still maintaining its traditional values and culture.

On the ECERDC programme, Dr Ng said it would provide training in academic and entrepreneurship skills to local youths. “The programme will help bridge the gap between urban and rural areas.”

Dr Ng said everyone in the tourism industry had the responsibility to maintain their services and products. “Failure to do so could mean a loss of financial resources,” she said, adding that besides tourism operators, local leaders and local government officers, even the ordinary people shared the responsibility of selling the country's tourism products. However, what normally happens when these efforts fail is that there will be parties blaming each other for not giving support.”

So let's start blaming her now.

ANOTHER ISLAMIC TOURISM EVENT

Depending on how you look at it, tour and travel operators from 50 countries  have come together for the ” first”   time in history for a global Islamic tourism forum at the World Islamic Tourism Mart 2012 (WITM 2012), which ended on Saturday.
The travel mart organised by MATTA includes a three-day exhibitions, a Premier Consumer Travel Fair,  at PWTC, which was opened to the public and a Business2Business (B2B) Travel Exchange exhibition, where international and domestic players in the industry can network.
A one-day conference featuring “renowned “speakers in the industry was held at the Seri Pacific Hotel and there was nothing said that we have not heard before.
“WITM 2012 is an avenue for various players in the Islamic tourism industry, from the consumer to hoteliers, the Government and private tourism organisations, to network. It is also a one-stop resource centre for Muslims to find travel packages at reasonable prices that will cater to their needs such as ensuring halal food and appropriate accommodation.
“There are over 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide and, therefore, Islamic tourism is an area that must be developed,” Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Datuk Mohd Khalid Harun said at a press conference.
The travel fair was to feature exhibits by participants from Muslim and non-Muslim countries such as Jordan, Iran, Maldives, UAE, Egypt, United States, Germany, France, India and China.
The exhibition was organised by MATTA in collaboration with the Tourism, Information, Communications and Culture and International Trade and Industry ministries and the Malaysian Association of Hotels, and is endorsed by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
The “Premier” Consumer Travel Fair was  opened to the public for free but coincided with MITE 2012 held at Serdang. Both sides were said to have suffered from lack of attendees due to the clash of dates.

MITE 2012 - A TOTAL FAILURE

Some of us who were at the closing ceremony of  The Malaysia International Tourism Exchange (MITE) last night were wondering how could this event be graced by a Tourism Minister when the crowd was hardly 200 people mostly not from the industry.  A word must have gone to the Minister about the situation on the ground and she decided not to come.

So the obedient Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau chief executive officer Zulkefli Sharif was asked to stand in for her. While reading her speech the Minister said that MITE 2012 has achieved its objective of promoting the country’s tourist attractions to outsiders like it has never been done before.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen then went on to  say that Malaysia had all the attributes that made it an ideal holiday destination as well as a magnet for investors.

“This major event (MITE) has awakened the interest of investors, tourism and travel trade members whose nature of business involves marketing tourism services and building up of a good network of business contacts for the trade,” she said.

For saying that MITE had received the support of 370 Malaysian registered sellers and those from 11 other countries, as well as 115 buyers from 23 countries, of which 70 per cent were from ASEAN, she was lying to her teeth.

She noted that the event had definitely created smart partnerships among the invited buyers and sellers during a two-day business-to-business session.

The minister also announced that the next edition of MITE would be held from June 6 to 9 next year. And we have this to say:

Without a post event report, she already committed to continue with the event with the same event manager. She has no sense of ROI with the RM5million investment. The Minister has been talking about  niche market tourism many times over the last few years but MITE is still the same pasar malam promotion selling domestic “Cuti Cuti Malaysia”

The Malaysia International Tourism Exchange (MITE) 2012 has failed in  its objective of promoting the country’s tourist attractions to outsiders.  There were 115 overseas buyers as claimed. With RM5million, it is a very expensive sales and marketing operations which work out to approximately RM43,478.26 per buyer. Unbelievable but true.

MITE 2012 - A GREAT SUCESS ???

Prime Minister Datuk Sri Najib Tun Abdul Razak hopes that the Malaysia International Tourism Exchange (MITE) 2012 will emerge as among the best travel trade shows in this region, if not in the world. 

The Prime Minister said targeted to strategically bring together the relevant vendors and service providers under one roof to explore and seize opportunities from the tourism industry globally, MITE also opened doors of opportunities to would-be investors to consider Malaysia as an avenue to invest in tourism-related business.

 

"In this regard, MITE inevitably creates a platform for networking, collaboration in the development of value-adding complementary services and for sharing ideas," he said at the launching of MITE 2012, here, today. Also present were the prime minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

 

The four-day event is said to have  attracted more than 600 exhibitors from 33 countries, but only 7 were seen during the opening ceremony.  120 dedicated " buyers"  from 23 countries were expected to be present as the Ministry has paid for their travelling expenses and full board during their stay here. 

A direct grant of RM 4.5 million has be given to the organisers not inclusive of the gala dinner and the huge advertising budget paid for by the Ministry of Tourism.  How they can  expect to draw some 600,000 visitors to this event is everyone's guess.

MITE - ANOTHER TOURISM MISTAKE

The so called "largest tourism exchange event in Malaysia, MITE 2012" has turned out to be a local fun fair event, close to a pasar malam.

Yesterday's opening clearly shows how tired we are Malaysians with all this so called tourism event that has bleed the country of scare resources  money.

The organisers has claimed in their high tech website that they  are not only inviting the domestic and foreign travel agencies and tourism companies like one would usually find in a common tourism fair. Advocating the extensive growth of the tourism industry by a more proactive approach, MITE 2012 has also secured the participation of ministries, foreign missions in Malaysia, members of the media, trade members and tour operators both from Malaysia and abroad to support the effort.


With a budget of close to RM 6 million by the Ministry of Tourism MITE 2012 will also be filled with non-stop fun-packed activities such as international performances and showcases, seminars, games and competitions. Meanwhile, the event will also share and exchange international cultural habits and practices, festivities plus a mouthwatering food showcase which will definitely make MITE 2012 an inspiring and exciting experience.

How they will get 600,000 people to visit the show is everyone's guess. Indian magic will be needed here. May we suggest the organisers arrange 15,000 buses to ferry Malaysians from all over the country for a free trip to Serdang with makan and pocket money thrown in.