More than 20 million tourists in first 9 months of 2019

Malaysia records more than 20 million tourists in first 9 months of 2019

Malaysia saw positive growth in the tourism sector in the first half of this year, boosted by stronger international tourist arrivals.

International tourist arrivals stood at 20,109,203 tourists between January and September, an increase of 3.7 per cent, compared to 19,386,115 visitors during the same period last year.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said the top 10 countries with the highest contribution of tourist arrivals was Singapore with 7,868,755 visitors, followed by Indonesia (2,792,776); China (2,413,956); Thailand (1,442,224); Brunei (929,789); India (539,167); South Korea (508,080); Vietnam (323,393); Japan (321,283) and the Philippines (317,294).

“Tourist receipts for the same period in 2019 reached RM66.14 billion compared to RM61.85 billion for the same period in 2018, indicating an increase of 6.9 per cent.

“The main contributors to the tourist expenditure were Singapore (RM16.3 billion), China (RM12.8 billion), Indonesia (RM8.8 billion), Thailand (RM2.8 billion) and India (RM2.5 billion).

“Per capita expenditure for the period of January to September also grew by 3.1 per cent from RM3,190.5 to RM3,289.3,” he said today in announcing the third quarter performance of the tourism sector.



Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi left). - NSTP/LUQMAN HAKIM ZUBIR. The short haul market, Mohamaddin said, had retained its position as the largest contributor of tourists to Malaysia with a share of 68.7 per cent.

The contribution of tourists from the medium haul market was 21.6 per cent, while the share of tourists from the long haul market was 9.7 per cent, he added.

“The highest per capita according to market distance saw Saudi Arabia recording the most for long haul at RM11,394.4; China at RM5,301.5 for medium haul and Vietnam at RM3,356.3 for short haul.”

The minister also said the haze which had shrouded Malaysia and neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Brunei had affected the momentum of tourist arrivals.

“I believe the tourist arrivals could be better without the haze.”

Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Musa Yusof said he believed that Malaysia would be able to achieve this year’s tourist arrival target of 28 million.

He said there would be a significant number of tourist arrivals towards the year end, especially in December from countries experiencing winter.

Malaysia normally records about 2.5 million tourist arrivals in Dec.

On tourist arrivals from China, Musa said Malaysia was still favoured by visitors from the country.

~New Straits Times~

Kuantan river reaches dangerous level

Kuantan river reaches dangerous level; flooding hits Setiu



As of 11pm, the river is at 36.9m – almost a metre above its dangerous level. NSTP/Courtesy NSTP reader

State Disaster Management Agencies are on high alert after Sungai Lembing breached its ‘dangerous’ level on Thursday night.

As of 11pm, the river is at 36.9m – almost a metre above its dangerous level.

According to Kuantan police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Noor Yusof Ali, who is also disaster operations commander for Kuantan, the river’s water level rose as a result of a continuous downpour since Thursday evening.

"If the thunderstorm in the area continues, the chances of flash floods occurring are very high.

"The (rising water level) could also affect Panching and Kuantan town, as it coincides with the high tide" he said.

Mohamad Noor said all agencies are surveying their respective sectors and making preparations to carry out rescue operations in the event of flooding.

Meanwhile, several areas in Setiu, Terengganu, were inundated by floodwaters at 10pm on Thursday night.

According to the state Disaster Management Agency, floodwaters near Jalan Kampung Bukit/Alur Lik are up to 0.6m deep.

Roads in the area are now closed to all light vehicles and motorists are urged to use alternative routes to travel to and from Kampung Tayor and Kampung Bukit.

~New Straits Times~

Decision on Airbnb next year, says Tourism D-G

Decision on Airbnb next year, says Tourism D-G



Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Musa Yusof said to address the problem, the committee would continue to discuss the issue to find suitable solution. -BERNAMA

The task force on short-term residential accommodation, Airbnb will announce its decision by early next year, Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Musa Yusof said today.

He said the task force was set up to regulate Airbnb accommodations nationwide and would take note of examples from other countries such as France, Singapore and Japan.

“We will look into the issue. What we have implemented throu\gh the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry and the agency under the Housing and Local Government Ministry, is that we already set up a task force to look at what other countries have implemented in terms of Airbnb-type rentals.

“We expect to announce the decision early next year and it needs to be regulated. For example, in some locations, Airbnb accommodations are allowed but not in the big cities where there are hotels available,” he told reporters after launching the Visit Malaysia (VMY) 2020 Kick Off conference here today.

He said this in response to complaints made by hoteliers who claimed of experiencing a decline in occupancy rate despite the high number of tourists arriving in the country as most of them were choosing Airbnb.

Musa said to address the problem, the committee would continue to discuss the issue to find suitable solution.

“The concept of Airbnb in Europe and the US are different than it is in Asia. The Airbnb accommodations that I used to stay at, either in Europe or in the US, the guests stayed with the hosts, and we already have this concept here for the past 30 years and we call it homestay.

Homestay is more for the experiences while Airbnb is more of an accommodation. Only in Malaysia, the visitors are not staying with the owner and this will be regulated,” he said.

He said the matter would be looked at as a whole as there were several joint management bodies had disallowed Airbnb to operate in the condominium building as it was viewed as disruption.

Meanwhile, commenting on the conference, he said it was launched to further promote the promotional activities of the VMY 2020 campaign in the northern states. -- Bernama

Red flag warning at all Pahang beaches, lifeguards on standby

Red flag warning at all Pahang beaches, lifeguards on standby



Red flags have been raised at all popular beaches in the state to warn beach-goers about potential strong waves during the monsoon season. - NSTP/FARIZUL HAFIZ AWANG

Pantai Teluk Chempedak, Sepat, Batu Hitam and Balok are now closed to swimmers and all water activities are prohibited due the possibility of unusual high-tide phenomenon.

State Civil Defence Force (APM) director Zainal Yusoff said the popular beaches here have been declared unsafe for swimming activities and people should stay away from entering the water.

He said lifeguards from APM were stationed during weekends and school holidays at the major beaches here between 9am and 7pm to warn beach-goers and attend to any emergencies at the beach.

“Six lifeguards will be stationed at designated beaches to monitor from the watch towers, and patrol the beach stretch on foot and motorcycles.

“Each team is equipped with jet skis, boats and our lifeguards are skilled in first aid and CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation).

“There is an increase of visitors at the beach due to the school holidays. We advise the public to cooperate and listen to instructions from the lifeguards,” he said today.

Zainal agreed that despite the red flags, people were not paying attention and some continue to enter the water with their children.

“They give various reasons including the weather is hot and there is no signs of rough seas, or insisted they are good swimmers.

“Our lifeguards do their best to remind the public about the danger posed by the waves and try to ensure the public do not take any risks," he said.

Meanwhile, Zainal said heavy rain in Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin over the past two days did not affect water levels at major rivers in Pahang.

On a separate note, State Secretary Datuk Seri Sallehuddin Ishak said all outdoor recreational activities in Pahang have been suspended between Nov 20 and Jan 20 next year, or a date to be announced later.

~New Straits Times~

Yellow weather alert in east coast from tomorrow

Yellow weather alert in east coast from tomorrow



The Malaysian Meteorological Department has issued a yellow weather alert in almost all areas throughout Kelantan and Terengganu, as well as several districts in Pahang following the east wind surge expected in the region from Nov 25 (tomorrow) which can bring continuous heavy rainfall.

Its director-general Jailan Simon said the areas involved in Pahang were Jerantut, Maran, Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin.

“Strong winds with speeds of 40 to 50 km/h with waves as high as 3.5 metres are expected to occur in waters off the respective states, and the weather warning is effective from Nov 25 to 27 (Wed).

"In addition, the seawater level is also expected to rise due to the high tide during the period.

"The incident could pose a risk of seawater overflowing along the coast and into river mouths in these areas," he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, he said, as the weather on the east coast was expected to improve, the orange weather alert issued on 2 pm on Nov 22 for Terengganu (Kemaman district) and Pahang (Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin) had been downgraded to a yellow alert, while in Johor the warning had been lifted.

-- BERNAMA

Sungai Lembing Bus Schedule (Rapid Kuantan 500)

Teluk Chempedak Beach Bus Schedule (Rapid Kuantan 200)

Bukit Gambang Resort Bus Schedule (Rapid Kuantan 100)

ECRL Map

Overload caused KTM server crash

Overload caused KTM server crash



KTM Bhd (KTMB) attributed “overwhelming demand” for ETS tickets that caused its ticketing servers to crash on Monday, frustrating tens of thousands of commuters.

The deluge, according to KTMB chief executive officer Datuk Kamarulzaman Zainal, came from the combination of demand associated with year-end school holidays, Christmas, Chinese New Year and Thaipusam, all of which was taking place from December until the end of February.

“We used to sell our tickets on a month-to-month basis but as we managed to secure a confirmed schedule from the contractor of the Klang Valley Double Track (KVDT) rehabilitation, we decided to open up the sale for the three-month block,” he told a press conference.

The KVDT rehabilitation is a massive project that had caused severe disruption to KTMB’s services running within the Klang Valley over the past few years as cargo, intercity, Komuter and ETS trains share either a pair of tracks and at work bottlenecks, only a single track.

Kamarulzaman said KTMB did its calculations before opening for the three-month block for sale on Monday.

“By our estimation, the ticketing system is supposed to be able to deal with the load,” he said adding that KTMB was also saddled with a “legacy” IT infrastructure that was purchased in 2000.

“It took up to 30 minutes to sell one ticket on Monday, and yesterday the time dropped to two minutes.

“We are truly sorry our customers had such an unpleasant experience,” he said, adding that the improvement was the result of several quick measures that were immediately implemented to address the situation.

Firstly, KTMB increased the bandwidth to its servers from 100Mbps to 200Mbps and secondly, it increased the number of central processing units used in its servers from 10 to 15.

For a longer-term solution, KTMB is embarking on a drive to embrace full digitisation of its infrastructure and services with substantial progress to be seen by the third quarter of next year.

“We already have a consultant studying our system so that it could be revamped.

“We expect to use ticketing systems that are on par with those used in aviation ticketing, as far as stability and reliability are concerned,” he said, adding that KTMB’s servers recorded nearly 400,000 users when sales opened, causing severe congestion.

Despite the chaos, KTMB still managed to sell up to 57,000 tickets by 10pm on Monday, with popular destinations being mostly north-bound, to places like Butterworth and Padang Besar.

A survey by The Star at KL Sentral yesterday found that a sense of calm had returned to the ticketing counters, with customers queuing calmly and orderly.

In Putrajaya, Transport Minister Anthony Loke expressed regret over Monday’s incident and said a substantial revamp of the ticketing system, which has weaknesses, was required.

“To this end, the ministry has directed KTMB to take remedial measures,” he said after attending a conference on bus rapid transit organised by Volvo Buses, Technology Depository Agency and Prasarana Malaysia Bhd.

~The Star~

彭州大臣宣布刁曼岛获准建新机场

彭州大臣宣布刁曼岛获准建新机场



马来西亚彭亨州务大臣旺罗斯迪宣布，中央政府已批准在著名海岛刁曼岛建设新机场的计划。

他昨天在彭州政府官方面簿发表声明指出，中央政府与彭州政府经过数年讨论，终于达成协议，决定落实有关计划。

他说：“根据公共工程部的建议，刁曼岛机场将建在甘榜巴耶（Kampung Paya），因为该区域对环境和人们的生活影响最小，是最适合的地点。”

他指出，新机场拥有一条长2.5公里的跑道，可让载送180人至200人的波音737型号飞机，以及A320空中客车起降。

至于费用方面，他说，将由政府及承包的私人公司分担，但细节仍在洽谈，尚未有最终定案。

旺罗斯迪也说，彭州政府相信新机场落成后，不仅能解决国内外访客登岛度假的交通问题，还能提高访岛人次，促进地方经济发展和增加就业机会。

他指出，刁曼岛每年接待约15万名游客，新机场落成后，相信游客人数会增长。“刁曼岛曾被美国《时代》杂志评为世界上最美丽的岛屿之一，我期待新机场带动游客人数增加后，岛上经济能更蓬勃发展，为当地人带来正面效应。”

刁曼岛目前有一个小型机场，只供小型飞机及包机起降，因此游客大多数是坐车或巴士前往柔佛州丰盛港码头，再坐船到刁曼岛。

去年中，马来西亚成功集团有限公司宣布，该公司计划耗资12亿令吉（约3.9亿新元）在刁曼岛建机场，并且已把相关建议书提交给政府。

马来西亚政府过去一直计划要在刁曼岛建新机场，以促进当地旅游业。其中，政府在2003年提出耗资1.2亿令吉（约3900万新元）在刁曼岛建机场的计划，但时任交通部长翁诗杰在2009年以环境问题为由，取消了计划。

~早报网~

Common signs 常见标语

Common signs 常见标语

BUKA
Open 开

TUTUP
Closed 关

MASUK
Entrance 入口

KELUAR
Exit 出口

TOLAK
Push推

TARIK
Pull 拉

TANDAS
Toilet 厕所

LELAKI
Men 男

WANITA / PEREMPUAN
Women 女

DILARANG MASUK
No Entry 不能进入

DILARANG MEROKOK
No Smoking 不能抽烟

JALAN SEHALA
One way traffic 单行道

云顶高原路段土崩 料今晚完成清理工作

云顶高原路段土崩 料今晚完成清理工作



搜救队伍周三在土崩地点，展开勘查行动。

著名度假胜地云顶高原的彩云阁受土崩影响的路段，预料于周三晚完成清理工作。 云顶消防及拯救局局长尤斯里指出，惟清理工作是否能如预期般完成，也需视天气而定，如果持续下雨，为了工作人员的安全，清理工作会暂停。

云顶通往彩云阁的路段，于周二傍晚5时40分发生山泥倾泻事故，往来云顶与彩云阁的路段被泥石覆盖，但没有影响前往云顶旅游景点的主要道路。

尤斯里说，至今仍持续发生小土崩，如果天气转晴，清理工作将在预定时间内完成。

根据无人机拍摄画面显示，土崩地区的道路料周三晚能完成清理工作。

他说，当局已开通另一条紧急道路，以供轻型车辆通行。

此外，针对逾200名游客受困于案发地点附近的酒店，他说，有关游客已于周三凌晨4时开始步行、再乘巴士往安全处。

~光华日报~