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Malaysia Travel Guide

STB Celebrates CNY by Promoting Iconic Sarawak Animals

STB Celebrates CNY by Promoting Iconic Sarawak Animals

Kuching, Tuesday – Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) celebrates this Chinese New Year by promoting Sarawak’s iconic animal, the Bornean Bearded Pig.

Around 24% of Sarawak’s population are of Chinese descent, making the lunar New Year a big celebration throughout the state every year.

The use of the ang pau is a tradition celebrated by Chinese communities throughout Sarawak and the world, where the elders give red packets to children on the Lunar New Year for good fortune.

In more modern renditions of the red packet, the animal of the Chinese zodiac for that year is often featured on the front.

As the Visit Sarawak Campaign continues, STB used this opportunity to celebrate the local cultural tradition of celebrating the lunar New Year by printing red packets for their partners in tourism, as well as promoting Sarawak’s distinct nature, this year being the Bornean Bearded Pig.

Bako National Park’s Bornean Bearded Pig is one of the most popular animals in the park, second only to the proboscis monkey, it became the perfect option for the “red packet”.

The ang pau packets will be shared with STB’s tourism industry partners and visitors, as well as Tourism Malaysia offices in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to promote Sarawak to the China market.

“For our Visit Sarawak Campaign, we are using every opportunity to highlight Sarawak’s unique features, in this case our rich Chinese culture as well as our unique endemic fauna, such as the bearded pig which can be found in Bako National Park,” said CEO of Sarawak Tourism Board, Sharzede Datu Haji Salleh Askor.

Visitors to Sarawak can find these red packets after January 21st at the Visitor Information Centre (VIC) in Kuching, Miri and Sibu.

The VICs are located at the Sarawak Tourism Complex at the Old Court House in Kuching, Lot 452 at Jalan Melayu in Miri, and at the Sibu Heritage Centre in Sibu.

STB has already expressed plans on continuing the use of indigenous animals in their Chinese New Year ang paus.

Bako National Park is Sarawak’s oldest and most visited national park, located a 45 minute drive and 15 minute boat ride away from Kuching city, with a population of endemic animals, with the bearded pig as one of them.

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Malaysia Travel Guide

Malaysia Airlines Signs Partnership with Sarawak Tourism Board for 2019

Malaysia Airlines Signs Partnership with Sarawak Tourism Board for 2019

LONDON, 6 November 2018:  Malaysia Airlines signed a partnership agreement with Sarawak Tourism Board yesterday to boost tourist arrivals to Sarawak and raise the profile of the destination in the UK.

Under the new agreement, Malaysia Airlines and Sarawak Tourism Board will fund a range of campaigns and promotional activities, including Digital Campaign Promotions, to boost domestic and international travel to Sarawak, OOH media to promote sale campaigns on print and taxis and joint-promotional activities with selected travel partners.

The agreement was signed at this year’s World Travel Market in London’s ExCel Centre by Sarawak Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer, Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor and Malaysia Airlines’ Chief Marketing Officer, Arved von Muehlen.

Arved von Muehlen, Malaysia Airline’s CMO, said: “We are delighted to be working with Sarawak Tourism Board even more in 2019 to showcase all that the region has to offer following agent familiarisation trips and  press trips jointly organised last year. Sarawak has a plethora of culture, adventure, nature, food and festivals ready to be discovered by the British public.”

Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor said: “We look forward to working closely with Malaysia Airlines to showcase the wonders of Sarawak to the world. The strength of the airline’s network and the quality of their product resonate strongly with travellers.”

The World Travel Market is a three-day conference bringing together travel professionals, key industry buyers, journalists, digital influencers, students and tourism ministers to discuss business, innovations and trends in the travel industry. Last year’s event sparked a million meetings, resulting in around £3 billion in contracts.

Malaysia Airlines also recently renewed its global partnership deal with Tourism Malaysia. The two parties will jointly invest in promoting Malaysia in key overseas markets including China, Australia and the UK.

Malaysia Airlines operates twice daily between London and Kuala Lumpur on its new Airbus A350. To take advantage of the airline’s great prices guests can book their tickets at Malaysia Airlines’ participating travel agents or visit Malaysia Airlines’ website at

https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/uk/en.html

 

Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Mohamad Din Ketapi (second from right), with Tuan Haji Mohammad Ibrahim Nordin, STB Board of Director member (right), Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor (centre), Arved von Muehlen (second left) and Captain Izham Ismail (left), flanked by Malaysia airlines stewardesses and a cultural troupe in traditional orang ulu garb.

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Malaysia Travel Guide

UK to be Key Market for Sarawak Tourism Board’s Promotional Activities

UK to be Key Market for Sarawak Tourism Board’s Promotional Activities

Sarawak Tourism Board unveiled the Visit Sarawak Year logo yesterday on November 7, 2018, as a precursor to its official launch in January 2019 at an industry event held in London today.

The Visit Sarawak logo will be the anchor emblem for the Visit Sarawak campaign.

Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, Datuk Haji Abdul Karim Hamzah said that the Visit Sarawak campaign is envisioned to place Sarawak on the tourism map as one of the preferred tourism destinations in Southeast Asia.

“The tagline, “More to Discover” underscores Sarawak Tourism Board’s strategy to position the state as a plethora of culture, adventure, nature, food, and festivals (CANFF) offerings that are not found anywhere else in the world, and ready to be discovered,” he said.

“Last year, we received 33,399 more British tourists as compared to 31,274 in 2016 a 6.79% increase which is a good indicator of gaining interest from travellers from the UK market”.

As of July this year, Sarawak received 19,784 arrivals from the UK and with the hope to reach a 10% growth this year.

He cited that the seven days Kuching combine with Mulu packages which are favoured by tourists from the UK with Central Sarawak being a rising attraction.

“We will be looking to intensify efforts to increase arrivals from the UK in the coming year while at the same time to increase their length of stay to at least 10 days in Sarawak”.

British tourists can now look forward to more new packages that will provide competitively priced offerings focusing on culture, adventure, nature, food and festivals, he added.

Sarawak had recorded a total spending of RM8.59 billion from tourism in 2017, which accounted for 7.9% of its gross domestic product (GDP).

International arrivals to Sarawak clocked in at 2.6 million last year. Some of the key international markets for Visit Sarawak will be UK, Germany, the Benelux, China, Australia, and ASEAN countries. ASEAN countries were a key source of visitors, which accounted for 48.98% or 2.38 million arrivals in 2017.

The newly-minted Sarawak Tourism Board CEO, Askor said, “Digital will be a large part of our campaign. Besides creating content on digital platforms to reach out to our markets, we are also developing a mobile app which will anchor the discovery process for all our visitors.”

Sarawak Tourism Board’s new logo multi-coloured logo spells out “Sarawak” with the tagline, “More to discover” to represent the aspirations of the campaign.

Comprising seven colours, in curled script, the red and yellow colours represent the state flag while orange represents the strong spirit and vibrant energy of the different ethnic communities within Sarawak, which is quintessential to Sarawak’s diverse tourism proposition. Green is used to represent the verdant rainforests abundant with wildlife and blue is used to represent the calmness of the ocean along Sarawak’s long coastline.

The uniqueness of the logo is augmented by the hornbill, which replaces the letter “A,” representing Sarawak’s moniker, “Bumi Kenyalang,” or “Land of the Hornbills” that the State has been known for many years, which is also an important symbol of luck to the indigenous people of Sarawak.

Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor (second left) at the prize presentation to the grand prize lucky draw winner that night, Jayne Byott (centre), Corporate Events Manager of J.M.B. Associates, United Kingdom. Also present at the occasion are Tuan Haji Ibrahim Noordin, STB Board of Director (second right), Richard De Villa, Marketing Manager UK Europe, Malaysia Airlines (right) and Rosmarie Wong of The Ranee Boutique (left).

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Tourism Malaysia

10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MALAYSIA’S LATEST ATTRACTION, ENCORE MELAKA

Hear ye! Hear ye! There’s a new attraction in town and we’ve got the 101 on it for you right here!

From the Impression series of world-acclaimed performances in China comes Encore Melaka, specially curated and directed by Wang Chaoge (the creative force behind the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony) to express her feelings for Melaka, its past, present and future.

Having just opened its doors on 7 July 2018, Encore Melaka puts up a magnificent and spectacular show. Expect emotive storytelling, high-energy choreography, vivid stage settings with creative lighting and unbelievable stage effects along with a score of moving music that will not only inspire audiences but capture their imagination, too.

We had a chance to be among the first to view the performance on its grand launch, which coincided with the very date that Melaka was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage City in 2008, and came away fully impressed (no pun intended)!

Here’s a sneak peek of what to expect of this awe-inspiring show that spans 700 years of story-telling through beautiful costumes, light, music, dance, folklore and history, all using top-notch technology that will blow your mind away!

  1. A new landmark in Melaka: The theatre itself is a work of art! Overlooking the scenic Straits of Melaka, it sets a new landmark in Melaka with its contemporary design. The façade is tiled with fish scale-like LED panels which reflect light from the ever-changing and vibrant sky of Melaka. It is the largest permanent theatre in Malaysia designed by chief architect Wang Ge from the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, and is purpose-built for Encore Melaka and nothing else! Tip: Come early before the show to catch the beautiful sunset scene of the theatre hall against the Straits of Melaka.
  2. State-of-the-art theatre hall: This theatre hall is unlike any other. The audience seats are situated in what seems to be an island surrounded by massive screens. In fact, to get to your seats, you will have to cross rhino over the stage! Seating capacity is 2,000 and it has state-of-the-art theatre technology including a sophisticated hydraulics system to support the 240 meter-long stage, multi-layered stages, advanced audio and 3D video mapping projection equipment. All this technology is synchronised to create a vivid and immersive theatre experience for all.
  3. The 360 degree rotating audience platform: The “wow” factor of this theatre is definitely the 360 degree rotating audience platform surrounded by four stages, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. The entire island of seats rotate automatically during the performance but you might not even realise the movements as the turns are so subtle. But, it will move you from stage to stage, bringing you a new perspective of the performance each time.
  4. Abstract storytelling: Don’t expect a linear re-telling of Melaka’s history in this show. Instead, Wang Chaoge wanted to compile cultural stories of Melaka and vignettes of life that reflected a society which embraced diversity and inclusiveness. There are snippets depicting Baba Nyonya wedding traditions, but in other scenes are abstract representations of Melaka and its people through symbolic adobe dance movements. Never mind if some of the scenes are too deep, the production itself, through artistic choreography, creative stage use, costumes and music, and 3D mapping technology, will keep you mesmerized.
  5. A performer’s dream: During the 70-minute live performance, about 200 local performers from all over Malaysia, aged between 18 and 63 years will take to the stage. The show’s producers proudly shared with us that putting together the show had brought about the realization of dreams for many of their performers. Indeed, the production supports the full-time careers of these performers and goes to show that the arts is well and truly alive in Malaysia.
  6. Memorable scenes: Keep your eyes open for some of the most memorable scenes of the performance: mesmerizing abstract lines dancing across the scene/stage depicting waves that later transform into a fleet of ships during the Cheng Ho scene; rows of shirtless drummers masterfully hitting drums in sync against projected imagery of waves; the water effects accompanied by emotive choreography in one of the show’s most thought-provoking dance sequence; the scene when a line of ladies dressed in colourful kebayas take on the stage with their stirring and nuanced performance. The show is presented in English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and other local dialects, reflecting the multi-racial and multi-cultural society in Melaka, but even so, remember that theatre, dance and music breaks all barriers.
  7. The work of an accomplished director: The whole storyline of Encore Melaka is the brainchild of Wang Chaoge, after studying Melaka’s history, culture, traditions and people for two years. It showcases her own perceptions and interpretations of the Melaka culture, after immersing herself in its history, experiencing the modern Melaka and envisioning its future. In fact, she has been famously quoted as saying, “I did not choose Melaka; Melaka has chosen me…” when explaining why Melaka was handpicked out of 150 competing countries lobbying for their own Impression show.
  8. The tenth Impression series and first out of China: The Impression series was started in 1998 by Wang Chaoge, along with fellow directors Zhang Yimou and Fan Yue. In China, six Impression shows and three Encore shows have been created under the series. Some of the famous Impression series include Impression Sanjie Liu and Impression Lijiang which are outdoor performances utilizing natural backdrops of mountains, lakes and rivers. When Melaka was handpicked by Wang Chaoge as the coveted home of Encore Melaka, it made Malaysia the first country outside of China to continue the legacy of this well-established performance series.
  9. Impression City in Melaka – The Encore Melaka theatre is part of a larger waterfront integrated mixed development called Impression City Melaka which encompasses hotels, serviced apartments, commercial complexes, office towers, educational and wellness facilities, a shopping mall, retail shops, a yatch club and a marina. The landmark 56 ha project with a gross development value of RM7 billion, is being developed by Yong Tai Berhad and expected to be ready in eight to ten years’ time. Encore Melaka theatre will remain as the centerpiece of this new destination.
  10. Close proximity to other tourist attractions – The theatre is located in Melaka’s most prominent site, along the city’s waterfront, just 3.5 km from Jonker Street, a renowned China town in the city. It is quite close to the city’s shopping, historic and cultural areas. In fact, from the Melaka city centre, it will barely take you 15 minutes to reach the theatre site. Bear in mind, though, as the theatre is located within a new commercial district, there aren’t many retail outlets just yet, so it is best to dine in the city before going for the show.

Contact Details/Information:

Address: No. 1 Jalan KSB, Impression 8, Impression City @ Kota Syahbandar, 75200, Melaka, Malaysia.
Ticketing: The ticket prices is from RM128 onwards. Visit https://encore-melaka.com/ticketing for ticket purchase.
Show Time: Monday –Saturday (5.30pm 8.30pm); Sunday (2.30pm 5.30pm).

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Malaysia Travel Guide

Miss World Malaysia 2018 Charity Gala and Coronation Night to be held at BCCK

Miss World Malaysia 2018 Charity Gala and Coronation Night to be held at BCCK

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth Sports is supporting Miss World Malaysia 2018 to promote its “Beauty With A Purpose” charity mission, and the Charity Gala and Coronation Night will be held at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK).

“Our vision is to lead the advancement of Sarawak’s tourism, arts, culture, youth and sports. We aim to position Sarawak as a premier tourist destination and showcase its unique arts and culture. We welcome all participants and their family members from other states of Malaysia to Kuching, Sarawak. By supporting this global event, ardent followers of Miss World events may also have the opportunity to learn more about Sarawak and our beautiful country,” said The Honourable Datuk Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports during a press conference on 6 July.

Taking inspiration from Miss World Organization Founder Mrs Julia Morley’s “Beauty with a Purpose” charity mission to help the underprivileged in various parts of the world, the new management team will be focusing on this core mission of providing opportunities to empower all beauty queens to serve the community and impact the lives of others.

“We aim to raise at least RM100,000 for charity this year, inviting all candidates who are competing at Miss World Malaysia to join hands in preserving the legacy of Miss World Malaysia,” said Sean Wong, National Director of Miss World Malaysia 2018.

Applications for Miss World Malaysia 2018 are open to single female non-Muslim Malaysian women born in Malaysia ranging from 18 to 26 years of age. The new management had decided to remove the swimsuit round as the focus of Miss World Malaysia 2018 was on “Beauty with a Purpose”, not just a beauty contest. Potential candidates should visit http://www.missworldmalaysia.org for more information. The application deadline for Miss World Malaysia 2018 is on 31 July, 2018.

The winner of Miss World Malaysia 2018 will receive RM30,000 cash and RM30,000 worth of prizes, be given the opportunity to undergo intensive personal grooming by famed celebrity image consultant Ida Ong, be engaged in a photoshoot by award-winning celebrity photographer Billy Mork, enjoy a 1-month stay in Hainan, China, representing Malaysia at the prestigious Miss World 2018 Grand, meet over a hundred beauty queens representing countries all around the world, network with movers and shakers of the international entertainment industry, earn a 1-year artiste management contract, be a brand ambassador and an appointed spokesperson championing meaningful social causes and impacting lives.

The annual Miss World Finals, aired live to approximately 180 countries yearly, attracts more than 1 billion viewers and consistently ranks among the most watched live annual entertainment telecasts in the world.

For more information or inquiries, contact Miss World 2018 here or visit their Facebook Page for updates.

From left, executive director of the global Miss World Organization Steve Douglas Morley, Permanent Secretary Hii Chang Kee, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, National Director of Miss World Malaysia 2018  Sean Wong and Miss World 2016 Stephanie Del Valle. Image retrieved from Miss World Press Release. 

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