The large number of visitors is unsurprising as Malaysia is a reading society. Books are something that the average Malaysian are quite accustomed to buying, and the government encourages book buying through various ways, even by providing a tax relief of RM1,000 for the purchase of newspapers, books and publications. If there is one grouse that Malaysian booklovers have, however, it would be the high price of books here in Malaysia, as compared to other countries. Could the prices be higher due to the currency exchange rate or is it due to something else?

The books that are available for sale onboard the Logos Hope.

Anyway, for those of you who want to visit Logos Hope, the ship will stop at Port Klang, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu before leaving for Singapore.

Read the full article below:

A visitor to the book fair on Logos Hope was pleasantly surprised to be named the two millionth visitor to the ship.

Businessman Mahavishnu Veerasingam, his wife and two children had come onboard at 1.20pm yesterday and were congratulated by Captain Tom Dyer and Logos Hope director Gian Walser.

They presented Mahavishnu with a goodie bag and a gift certificate worth RM160 to shop at the book fair and took the family on a tour of the ship’s bridge.

“I feel like the luckiest guy in Penang. This is such a pleasant surprise for me and my family,” said Mahavishnu who came with his wife Malini Bismar, 29, and children Mahvendra, six, and Trishika, four.

Mahavishnu, 33, said he was looking forward to buying some fiction, non-fiction and adventure books.

Dyer said that it was a big milestone for Logos Hope which has been sailing since 2009.

“We have had very encouraging response in all the countries we visited,” he said, adding that the ship received its one millionth visitor in Liberia in August last year.

Logos Hope media relations officer Jessie LaPlue said the ship received more than 11,000 visitors a day during the recent Hari Raya-Merdeka public holidays.

Penang is Logos Hope’s first stop in the country. It will sail to Port Klang, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu before heading for Singapore.

Source: The Star

Photo (c) arne.list

He said local festivals such as the Kuching Festival, Moon Cake Festival or Sarawak Regatta were an instrument to woo foreign tourists as they showcased the friendly multi-racial people here, the richness of multi-cultural food and natural heritage as well as the rich tropical fauna and flora here.

“It’s time to think ‘a little bit of commercialization’ to make the local festivals bigger, greater so they could go global to woo more tourists and increase the income of the locals,” he said when launching the 22nd anniversary of the Commemoration of City Day, at the Kuching Park, here Sunday night.

Also present were Kuching City South (MBKS) Mayor, James Chan and Kuching City North Mayor Datuk Abang Mohd Atei Abang Medaan.

Dr Chan, who is also the state Tourism and Heritage Minister, also launched the 2010 Kuching Festival to be held until Aug 22 at Dewan Masyarakat Padungan from 5.30pm to 11pm daily which comprised food fair, trade fair and nightly entertainment.

Meanwhile, Dr Chan commended both MBKS and DBKU for their role in the promotion of tourism in the city, which was reflected in its cleanliness and beautification programmes in the city.

“I urge the tourism industry players to continue to put your best efforts to make Kuching City a popular tourism destination,” he said.

Dr Chan urged the city folks, local councils, agencies and departments to make Kuching a livable city a reality soon.

Meanwhile, Kuching City South (MBKS) Mayor, James Chan urged the people to play their role to make Kuching City a first class city.

“The people should not have the attitude that ‘I Pay Rates’ and so ‘I can Pollute’ and let the council take care of the rubbish. They must play their role to keep and sustain the cleanliness and health security of the city,” he said.

Kuching was granted a city status on Aug 1, 1988.

Source: Bernama

Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the proposal for the direct flights was made to AirAsia chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes last year and the airline was now in the process of reviewing its domestic routes.

“I hope there will be at least one direct flight each week to the two destinations. For example, the direct flight departs in the morning and returns in the afternoon or the next day,” he told reporters after handing out an official invitation to attend the 13th Malaysia Games (Sukma) to be held in Melaka from June 10 to 19 to Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud at Wisma Bapa Malaysia, here Tuesday.

Mohd Ali said AirAsia had the capability to provide the direct flights as the MIA now had the capacity to receive the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 aircraft.

He said Melaka was also keen to develop the education sector with Sarawak in view of the great potential which could be exploited jointly.

Source: Bernama

Kuching

It is not all gloom and doom in Asia. On August 1, Chief Minister of the Malaysian State of Sarawak, Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, revealed that tourist arrivals to the State increased by 10 percent, representing an additional 85,000 visitors during the first three months of 2009. Taib Mahmud expressed his confidence that this positive growth would continue until year end.

Sarawak could get a major boost with many developments taking place in the State capital Kuching. A new international convention center, the first of its kind on Borneo island, will open by the end of the year with many new hotels coming up in the capital. In April, the local government also announced Kuching bidding to enter the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage list. Kuching is still in its early stage to look for such status, but when conferred, it would be a strong attractive asset for international travelers.

The Chief Minister, in revealing this, is convinced that the positive trend would continue until the end of this year. This good performance is to be attributed to a surge of air seats now available. In less than a year’s time, an Open Sky agreement between Singapore and Malaysia translated into the addition of over 4,000 weekly seats from and to Singapore, bringing total seat capacity to 7,000 seats. Served only by Malaysia Airlines and Silk Air, the Kuching-Singapore route is also served now by Jetstar Asia, Tiger Air, and AirAsia. The latter just inaugurated three weekly frequencies from Miri to Singapore. So far, Singapore arrivals have grown by 25 percent since the start of the year. AirAsia is also serving Jakarta and Macau from Kuching.

Growth in capacity is followed by an increase in accommodation capacity. The opening of the new Borneo Convention Centre Kuching next October has stimulated investments in the hotel sector – new properties include the recently-opened Four Points by Sheraton with 421 rooms and the Pullman Interhill with 389 rooms, due to open in October at the same time as a brand new shopping mall. A new boutique hotel, the Lime Tree, opened in the heart of the city, offering 50 rooms. Tune Hotels, a sister company of AirAsia, has also been present since the beginning of the year with a 135-room property. Another four- to five-star hotel is planned for opening by 2011.

In 2008, Sarawak recorded 3.6 million tourist arrivals, down by 5.3 percent over 2007. However, the Sarawak Tourism Board expects to welcome four million travelers until 2012.

Source: eTourboNews

In conjunction with the Grand Opening, Four Points also set the record for the Tallest Cupcake Display in Malaysia, an attempt endorsed by The Malaysia Book of Records. The record attempt was witnessed by the Prime Minister as well as Datuk Danny Ooi, Managing Director of The Malaysia Book of Records.

Four Points by Sheraton Kuching is located 2 kilometers from the Kuching International Airport and just 15 minutes from the heart of the city. The hotel, the city’s first International opening in almost 2 decades, will cater to both business and leisure travelers while also offering a complete range of meeting and banquet facilities.

“We’re extremely proud to be Starwood’s first Four Points in South East Asia,” said Giuseppe Ressa, General Manager of Four Points by Sheraton Kuching. “We also look forward to bringing this fun and exciting brand to life here in Kuching. We believe the local community will embrace our fresh, down-to-earth approach to hospitality.”

Developed and owned by Global Upline Sdn. Bhd., the 421-room Four Points by Sheraton Kuching combines modern architectural design with practical use of space.

All rooms feature the Four Points by Sheraton Four Comfort Bed™, 32-inch LCD televisions, large working desk, High Speed Internet Access, WiFi and a great rainforest shower.

The hotel also has three Food and Beverage concepts, ten meeting spaces including a 1,456-square meter ballroom, 24-hour fitness centre, outdoor swimming pool and 24-hour business centre.

“The simple functionality of our design allows us to introduce the Four Points’ honest, uncomplicated hospitality to a market that’s hungry for a new international hospitality brand,” said Bobby Ting, Owner’s Representative and Assistant Managing Director of Global Upline.

In his address to those attending the Grand Opening ceremony, Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib congratulated both Global Upline Sdn. Bhd. and Four Points by Sheraton Kuching for providing the impetus to positively drive the tourism industry along during a challenging economic period. He further expressed how encouraged he was that Four Points, with its large number of rooms, modern facilities and international brand will be able to provide visitors with an enhanced experience when visiting the state of Sarawak.

Spearheaded by Four Points’ Executive Chef, Liou Chong Yaw, the building of the cupcake display also raised funds for the annual UNICEF Check Out for Children Challenge. “We wanted to set the record, but our attempt was more than that. Our culinary team also wanted to give back to the community and we have an ideal platform to do that through the Check Out For Children program.” said Chef Liou.  

“We chose to use the cupcake as it is not only one of Four Points’ most recognizable brand icons, it is also a Feel Good Treat that promotes a feel good feeling,” he added.

As an added service to guests, Four Points by Sheraton Kuching will be the first hotel in the city to offer guests complimentary shuttle transfers between the hotel and the airport as well as to and from the city’s commercial center.

Four Points by Sheraton is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE:HOT), one of the largest hotel and leisure companies in the world.