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The Langkawi archipelago off the north-western
coast is home to luxury properties such as the Four Seasons, Datai and Danna Langkawi and beaches such as Cenang and Tanjung Rhu. Family attractions include the new treetop
Skytrex and the entertainment complex around SkyCab, the world’s steepest cable car. For golfers there’s the stunning Teluk Datai club, designed by Ernie Els. One of the strongest growth areas is adventure
travel, focused on Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo, with its orangutans, lush scenery, beaches and diving, and Taman Nagara Park and the Cameron Highlands on the mainland. Options include Sabah Adventure, a top seller for Intrepid Travel which for 2015 has added a four-day Manukan Island Getaway (from £389pp) and a three-day tour ascending Mount Kinabalu (from £490pp). “With two new trips launching we’re
confi dent of a strong 2015 for Malaysia,” says Spencer Neal, Head of UK Trade Sales. Hayes and Jarvis is seeing positive
growth in both Borneo and Langkawi. “Borneo has always been a popular resort
for us and with the great offers in the January sales we are hopeful the positive growth continues,” says Matt Clift, Destination Manager. Borneo is also big for Premier Holidays which introduced a destination-focused campaign for Malaysia in January, backed
by its generous agent incentive scheme and schedule of 2015 roadshows. New for 2015 are two fi ve-star hotels in Penang, the Eastern & Oriental and the Lone Pine. Oscar Lopero, Product and Purchasing Manager for Travel 2, says the operator saw ‘signifi cant growth’ for 2014, with the biggest rise seen in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, and the largest volume going into Penang, ‘the food capital of Malaysia and a great cultural hub’. Popular options at Cox & Kings include Malaysian Borneo, Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur stopovers. Far East Product Manager Neill Prothero said: “We recommend clients see more of the mainland, especially Penang for its wonderful food and history and the scenic Cameron Highlands.”
What’s new Air: British Airways (
batraveltrade.com) starts
its daily direct service to Kuala Lumpur on May 27 and Air Asia X is in talks to reinstate its Kuala Lumpur-London service. Meanwhile, December saw Malaysia Airlines (malaysiaairlines. com/chefoncall) follow the launch of its Chef- on-Call boutique food offering in Business and First Class on its twice-daily Heathrow- Kuala Lumpur service by reducing child fares from 85% to 80% of adult fares. Rail: Belmond (
belmond.com) has a new fi ve-night Fables of the Peninsula ‘land-cruise’ on its Eastern & Oriental train. The inaugural, which includes daily excursions in Penang, Kuala Lumpur and the Cameron Highlands, departs Singapore for Bangkok on September 29 following an overnight at the Raffl es. Hotels: Taj (
tajhotels.com) has rebranded the 390-acre Rebak Island Resort in Langkawi as the Vivanta by Taj, Rebak Island Langkawi. Last December saw Starwood (starwoodhotels.
com) open the 200-guestroom St. Regis in Kuala Lumpur and the 237-guestroom Four Points by Sheraton in Puchong.
Clockwise from top left: Tea plantations, Cameron Highlands; the Skyway cable car to Genting Highlands; street art in Georgetown, Penang; view from the peak of Bohey Dulang Island, Sabah; Orangutan; barracuda school in Sipadan.
“Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort, which has its own orangutan education centre, is opening a Ocean Wing
extension in March. This will open up the opportunity for more guests to experience the
property and destination” MATT CLIFT, DESTINATION MANAGER, HAYES AND JARVIS
Luxurious properties opening in 2015 include the Ritz Carlton (
ritzcarlton.com) on Langkawi and the 350-guestroom Westin Desaru Resort (
starwoodhotels.com), opening July, backed by a 27- hole championship course designed by Ernie Els and an 18-hole course designed by Vijay Singh. Harrods’ owner Qatar Holdings is planning
to open Harrods hotels in cities such as Kuala Lumpur, New York, London and China. Work is due to start on a branded
hotel in Kuala Lumpur later this year. Attractions: Twentieth Century Fox is to open a 25-acre fi lm-inspired theme park in Genting Highlands in 2016. Twentieth Century Fox World will be backed by a casino and a hotel.
Tourism Talk “Tourism numbers from the UK are currently up by around 10% and this year promises to be an exciting year for
Malaysia as it’s our offi cial Year of Festivals. We have lots of new hotel openings and a 20th Century Fox theme park under construction. For the UK market the big news is the new direct British Airways service between London and Kuala Lumpur, which launches on May 27. “The trade remains extremely important to
Tourism Malaysia, especially after our diffi cult 2014 and we are keen to work more closely with travel agents. This year we are planning several trade
sellingtravel.co.uk
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