Malaysia RM10 tourism tax to be maintained

RM10 tourism tax to be maintained

THE flat rate of RM10 per room per night on foreign tourists will be maintained, says Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi.

“Under the new government, the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry has reviewed implementation of the tourism tax.

“From the review, the implementation of the tax by countries such as the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, Singapore and Thailand, proved that the tax has brought positive growth to the tourism sector in the long term,” he said in a written reply to Datuk Danyal Balagopal Abdullah (PH-Port Dickson).

Mohamaddin noted that Japan and Saudi Arabia had recently implemented the tourism tax.

He said the tax is expected to bring positive impact to the tourism industry through the financing of infrastructure, arts and culture. It is only applicable to foreign tourists.

~News courtesy of The Star~

AirAsia's Ipoh-Johor Baru flights take off on Oct 1

AirAsia's Ipoh-Johor Baru flights set to take off on Oct 1

AirAsia's much awaited Ipoh-Johor Baru flights are expected to begin on Oct 1 this year.

Perak Tourism, Arts and Culture Committee chairman Tan Kar Hing said there would be four flights weekly and hoped that more tourists from the south can visit Perak.

"We also hope that tourists from Singapore can come to Ipoh via the airline," he told reporters when met at Weil Hotel here on Wednesday (July 18).

He said this after launching a Singapore-based "Cao Parties: Eat, Stay, Play" tourism promotional programme on Ipoh.

It was reported recently that AirAsia would be setting up shop at the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport with an announced flight to Johor.

AirAsia Group Bhd CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes had also on June 18 tweeted: "We opening Ipoh soon, and also looking to restart Kuantan. Would mean we would fly to all local destinations."

The Ipoh-Johor Baru route was not new, having been launched in early 2006 before it was suspended later in September.

One of the reasons Fernandes had cited then was that the runway at the airport in Ipoh had not been extended.

The airport has since been refurbished between April 2011 and November 2012, including the extension of its 1,789m-long runway by another 200m to accommodate larger aircrafts.

Tan also said he hoped to get more airline companies to fly to Ipoh.

"I will hold talks with two companies next month and I hope to get positive feedbacks.

"I will meet with Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd to look into the facilities at the airport, including the current setting there, the information centre and its basic infrastructure," he said.

~News courtesy of The Star~

柔佛旅游好介绍 Johor Travel Deals

柔佛旅游好介绍 Johor Travel Deals