Tourism Malaysia ties up with Expedia PUTRAJAYA: Tourism Malaysia has inked a deal with American travel company Expedia Group which will see both sides collaborate to boost tourism promotion to Malaysia. Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said the partnership with Expedia will help support Malaysia’s target of achieving 30 million tourist arrivals and RM100bil tourist spending by 2020. “Malaysia has just launched its fifth instalment of the Visit Malaysia series, Visit Malaysia 2020, and this is a timely strategic partnership which will benefit all parties. “Expedia Group, as many of you would know, has over 200 travel booking websites in more than 70 countries around the world and work with thousands of lodging and flight partners to cater to the differing needs of modern travellers today. “This partnership will collectively promote travel to Malaysia hence helping us grow our tourism arrival and income, empower our hospitality industry to be equipped with the right tools and services to help them grow their business locally, and be seen as a beacon in the sustainable tourism space, ” said Mohamaddin in his speech at the signing ceremony of the new collaboration, held at his ministry yesterday. Mohamaddin said one of the agreements between Tourism Malaysia and Expedia Group will be focused on several global campaigns to promote inbound travel from the United States, Australia and Japan to Malaysia. The three countries are among the biggest points of sale for Expedia Group. “This partnership will see a joint execution of destination marketing campaigns to spotlight Malaysia’s hidden and unique tourist attractions as well as promote the variety of accommodation to Expedia Group’s 750 million plus monthly visitors globally, ” said Mohamaddin. The collaboration will also see Expedia Group and Tourism Malaysia exchanging traveller insights, to help better understand tourist behaviours and home tourism strategies in line with the implementation of Visit Malaysia. Expedia Group senior vice-president of commercial strategy and services Greg Schulze said the company found Malaysia to be a “progressively thinking destination” and was committed to help expose the country to travellers around the world. “Tourism is an important contributor to Malaysia’s economy, accounting for almost 14.9% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and 3.4 million jobs. “As a world travel platform, Expedia Group is proud to be an online travel tourism partner to Tourism Malaysia, connecting Malaysia’s tourism industry to millions of travellers in our worldwide network, ” he said. Among the travel websites under Expedia Group include Expedia.com, Trivago and Hotels.com. ~The Star~
Air quality worsens slightly in the country The air quality in Peninsular Malaysia has worsened slightly with Rompin in Pahang Air Pollutant Index (API) readings jumping from “unhealthy” to “very unhealthy” zone. According to Department of Environment (DOE) data, the API recorded in Rompin was at 223 as at 4pm, yesterday. On Saturday, Rompin’s API was “unhealthy” at 125. Conditions in Kuala Lumpur remained at moderate levels during the weekend, with the API at between 65 and 67. In Selangor, Johan Setia saw a slight increase in the API readings. The reading recorded was at 95 compared to 92 on Saturday. Other areas in Selangor such as in Banting (82), Petaling Jaya (81), and Shah Alam (83) maintained its “moderate” readings. The API readings in Kedah and Perlis also worsened from “good” to “moderate”, while Sabah maintained its “good” API readings. Other places nationwide such as in Negri Sembilan, Johor, Perak, Penang, Kelantan and Terengganu recorded “moderate” API levels. Meanwhile, in Sarawak, Sri Aman posted an API reading of 252 and generally the haze situation here and in Miri is still bad. The API reading worsened compared to Saturday which was at 247. The air quality in SK Kuala Baram 2 station and the Miri Industrial Training Institute station both improved. SK Kuala Baram 2 station recorded an API reading of 80 from 119, while the Miri Industrial Training Institute station recorded a reading of 161 from 222. As of yesterday morning, the DOE recorded one “hot spot” (forest fire) in Sarawak An API reading of between 0 and 50 is good, while 51 to 100 is moderate, 01 to 200 is unhealthy, 201 to 300 very unhealthy, and 301 and above is deemed hazardous. The public can also refer to the Department of Environment (DoE) website at or by downloading the MyIPU smartphone app on ‘Google Play’ to get hourly API readings According to the Asean Specialised Meterological Centre (ASMC) weather and haze outlook posted on Saturday at 6.25pm, it noted that hotspot activities in Sumatra and Kalimantan are likely to persist in the country. ASMC’s satellite monitoring system has also indicated in recent times that open burning is also coming from that direction. ~News courtesy of The Star~
'Joh' the tiger mascot for Visit Johor Year 2020 JOHOR BAHRU, Aug 17 (Bernama) -- The Malayan tiger has been selected as the mascot for Visit Johor Year (VJY) 2020 and will be called ‘Joh’, a short form for Johor. “Joh symbolises the courage and spirit of freedom possessed by the people of Johor who will not easily give up,” said state Tourism, Women, Family and Community Development Committee chairman Liow Cai Tung. She added it was an apt name for the mascot as the tiger was magnificent and powerful. Meanwhile, the VJY 2020 logo also features the gambus, a traditional musical instrument where the letter ’J’ is visualised from part of its (gambus) image to form the word Johor, she said after the official launching of the VJY 2020 logo and mascot by Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal here today. The logo also includes an illustration of the crown arch of Istana Bukit Serene, one of the main landmarks in the state, symbolising the Johor’s preparedness in welcoming and inviting tourists from within and outside the state. Speaking at the event, Dr Sahruddin said the last time Johor organised the VJY was 17 years ago in 2003, and hoped there would be more tourist arrivals to the state next year. He said 20 destinations including the Sultan Abu Bakar Heritage Complex, Gunung Ledang, Sawah Ring, Desaru Coast and Pulau Kukup National Park would be promoted during the VJY 2020 campaign. Twenty events would also be promoted during the period, including the Chingay Festival, Johor Orchid Festival, Festival of Lights in Little India, Jambatan Sultan Ismail Carnival 2020, Bendang Festival and the Pantai Mersing Festival, he said. Dr Sahruddin said that the state was expecting an influx of 17.4 million tourists next year, which would certainly provide an economic boost to its people, especially operators and those involved in the tourism industry. “I urge all Johor people to make a success of the VJY 2020 and the Malaysia Games (Sukma) 2020, also to be held in the state. "In preparing for it, I encourage the community to practice a tourist-friendly culture and maintain cleanliness (in the surroundings)," he said. -- BERNAMA
Body of woman believed to be missing Singaporean kayaker found
The body of a woman believed to be that of a Singaporean kayaker reported missing in Endau waters on Aug 8 was found in Kemaman waters today. Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Mersing Zone chief Maritime Commander Haris Fadzillah Abdullah said the fully-clothed body with a life jacket on was found floating at sea about five nautical miles east of Kuala Kemaman by local fishermen at 12.50 pm. "The body arrived at the Kemaman Zone MMEA at 4.30 pm and was sent to Hospital Kemaman for post-mortem and identification by the family,” he told reporters at the forward base set up at the Penyabong jetty, Endau here today.
Last Thursday, Singaporeans Tan Eng Soon (male), 62, and Puah Geok Tin (female), 57, went missing at about 5.40 pm after they got separated from a group of 13 friends while kayaking between Pulau Sri Buat, Pahang and Pulau Mertang, Mersing.
Haris Fadzillah said the spot where the body was found was about 18 nautical miles from where their kayak was discovered yesterday and 100 nautical miles from where they were last seen in their kayak on Thursday.
He said the next-of-kin at the forward base would be coming to Kemaman to identify the body.
Following the discovery of the body, the sector for search by air assets has been widened to 600 square nautical miles stretching from the waters off Kuantan in Pahang to Kerteh, Terengganu.
"With this development, the search around islands in Endau waters has been temporarily called off because we had covered those areas,” he said. -- BERNAMA
Son of missing kayaker grateful to SAR personnel
The son of Puah Geok Tin, a woman who went missing while kayaking in Endau waters on Aug 8, has thanked the search and rescue team for their hard work and dedication.
Louis Pang, 24, said the rescue agencies had always provided support to his family and continued the search even while welcoming Aidiladha. "Definitely, I really thank MMEA (Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency), Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysia Police and Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) for the help. "My family and I are really thankful for the effort in searching for my mother," he told reporters at the Penyabong Jetty here today. Pang said he is keeping up his hope that his mother is alive although the body of a woman was found in Kemaman waters this afternoon and has not been identified yet.
"So, my family and I, we are hoping for the best," he said.
Pang described his mother as a caring person who loves outdoor activities.
Last Thursday, Puah, 57, and a man, Tan Eng Soon, 62, both Singaporeans, were reported missing at about 5.40 pm while kayaking after they were separated from a group of 13 friends at an area between Pulau Sri Buat, Pahang and Pulau Mertang, Mersing.
-- BERNAMA
Hot and dry weather in M'sia until October, says the weatherman
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Malaysia is expected to experience hot and dry weather with less rainfall until October, says Deputy Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis. She said apart from Malaysia, neighbouring countries Singapore and Sumatra in Indonesia are expected to experience the same weather pattern. "We expect to experience a shortage of rainfall with warmer and drier weather this year without the El Nino and La Nina phenomena until October, " she said when asked about the essence of the 21st Technical Working Group (TWG) Meeting and the Ministerial Steering Committee Sub-Region on Cross-border Haze Pollution in Brunei. She said this when contacted on the Bernama News Channel (BNC) talk showroom programme here Wednesday (Aug 7) night. Commenting on the meeting, Isnaraissah said the five countries involved had presented measures taken to address fires and haze in their respective countries. "Among the information shared was to carry out continuous monitoring of weather and hotspots, enforce the law and have the equipment prepared, mobilise human resources and co-ordinate fire-fighting, " she said. The annual meeting involving four other Asean countries, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, was held to monitor and detail the steps taken in addressing cross-border haze. The initiative to address the Asean haze problem began following a serious episode of pollution in 1997 that led to the Asean Convention on cross-border haze signed by 10 countries in Kuala Lumpur on June 10, 2002. - Bernama
Haze situation under control despite dry spell The haze situation appears to be under control despite the dry spell as the Air Pollutant Index (API) has not reached unhealthy levels in any parts of Malaysia. In fact, good air quality was recorded in Kota Tinggi, Johor (API reading 50), Tawau, Sabah (46) and Limbang, Sarawak (47) at 6pm yesterday. Air quality in other parts of Malaysia was at a moderate level. An API reading of between 0 and 50 is good while 51 to 100 is moderate, 101 to 200 is unhealthy, 201 to 300 very unhealthy, and 301 and above deemed hazardous. National Weather and Geophysics Operations Centre director Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said the air quality would return to normal soon as Indonesia had succeeded in its aggressive initiative to douse the raging forest fires. He also noted that the two low-pressure cyclones in the West Pacific and the northern part of South China Sea would further suck the atmospheric moisture. Several west coast states in the peninsula and Sarawak are also facing the haze following forest fires at six districts in Indonesia over the last four days. The Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) warned that more hotspots could be expected in the first two weeks of August, particularly in the fire-prone provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia, following warmer and drier than average conditions forecast over the southern Asean region. In the northern Asean region, hotspot activities are expected to remain subdued due to prevailing rainy conditions, according to ASMC. ~News courtesy of The Star~
