Cool destination for Mid-Eastern tourists

AS the heat of the summer hits the Middle East, tourist hotspots in the Klang Valley like Jalan Bukit Bintang and KLCC are seeing more visitors from that region. Most can be identified almost instantly through their features, with the men looking rugged and the women looking modern and trendy with their headscarfs modestly draped over their shoulders, while others are fully covered in an abaya.

Mohammed Almansoori, 16, was spotted at Jalan Bukit Bintang with his mother and siblings while his dad was elsewhere hailing a cab. They had come from Dubai and said this was their second visit to Kuala Lumpur and their first trip was five years ago. “We like the shopping malls and the weather is good here. In Dubai, it is way too hot for us now,” Mohammed said. The family are were staying for five days in Kuala Lumpur and had already visited Langkawi and Penang.

Cousins Wafa Al Ghazali, 24, and Balqis Al Roaini, 27, think of Kuala Lumpur as their “slice of heaven” during the summer months in Dubai. “We are in Malaysia for 10 days. I think KL is very much like Dubai in terms of the city landscape and the malls, but you have attractions like Sunway Lagoon, Genting Highlands and A’Famosa in Malacca, so Malaysia offers so much more places to have fun. “Primarily, we want to escape the heat back home. Here, there is also a lot of greenery that helps cut down on the heat,” Wafa said. However, they said they had not plucked up the courage to sample Malaysian food and had been eating mostly international or Western-type cuisine.

Just outside the Bukit Bintang entrance to the Pavilion shopping mall, Mohammad Bukhari was seen taking photos and videos of his wife and daughter who were posing near the fountain. When approached, Mohammad Bukhari, who is from Saudi Arabia, said the last time he came to Malaysia was 10 years ago. “Other than just shopping, you have the zoo, which I could bring my daughter to,” the 33-year-old said. He is spending 20 days in Malaysia but only five of those days will be spent in KL. He also named Penang as his favourite destination for the fine beaches and food.

At the Parkroyal Kuala Lumpur, area director of sales and marketing Albert Stienissen said a number of services and measures had been implemented for the guests’ comfort during their stay at the hotel. “We have installed Arabic radio and television channels in all the rooms and suites while a selection of Arabic newspapers and magazines are also available.

At the Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur in KLCC, the hotel calls the Middle East period a busy stretch for them, and to cope with the number of these guests arriving, it employs Arabic speaking staff to man its hospitality desk on 24-hour shifts. “We also print special information cards in Arabic and obtain Arabic KL guides and maps to be kept at our concierge desk, ” hotel communications manager Theresa Goh said.

At the Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur, marketing and communications manager Kalaivani Pakiri was glad that the hotel was fully booked and running at 100% occupancy almost every day, with an average of 150 rooms taken by Middle Easterners each night.

Walking down the street, we saw Shisha smoking pipes laid out by eating outlets as an added attraction for the Middle Easterners.

Other than the Shisha, dining options are aplenty with a number of Middle East and Western-chain restaurants around, while sandwiched in between the foot reflexology parlours along Jalan Bukit Bintang are shops selling wood oil and Arabic perfumes to cater to these travellers.

It is said that Middle Eastern tourists would return to their home countries just before the start of the Ramadan season, which will be in the middle of next month.

News extracted from: The Star (01 Aug 2009)