Malaysia: Good fur business

Selling a holiday to Malaysia?  The destination has wide
appeal, and is particularly suited to nature lovers and
honeymooners. The destination sustained minimal tsunami damage and
is wide open for business as usual. But don’t just take our
word for it – read what tour operators have to say and use
these ideas to entice your clients.

Where: Langkawi has to be top of
everyone’s list for romance. Secluded beaches, coral coves,
lagoons and stunning resorts set the scene for a truly exotic
honeymoon. Recent changes in legislation have made getting married
in Malaysia somewhat easier. Penang is a popular choice to tie the
knot – in particular at the Shangri-La and Eastern and Orient
hotels, as well as the beach resorts of Kota Kinabalu in
Sabah.

Operator view: Sovereign Worldwide product manager
Jennie Ferguson said: “Malaysia is among our top three
honeymoon destinations. It’s so varied and attractive it
appeals to everyone’s tastes. Nature is quite a draw –
honeymoons don’t necessarily mean just sitting on a
beach.

A lot of our tours combine cities with islands, for example Kuala
Lumpur and Langkawi. We can also do a Kuala Lumpur stopover plus a
choice of resorts such as the Datai, a spa and golf retreat which
is idyllic for honeymooners. Other top resorts include the Tanjung
Rhu and Pelangi Beach in Langkawi and the Shangri-Las in Sabah in
Borneo.”

Sample product: Sovereign Worldwide has five
nights’ room-only at the Pangkor Laut Resort on a Romantic
Interlude Honeymoon package from £1,177 per person in May. It
includes flights, a flower bath with champagne, a sunset cruise
with dinner, dinner on the rocks at Emerald Bay, and an ultimate
experience at the Belian Pavilion Spa Village.

Where: Sipadan, a speedboat ride away from
Sabah’s west coast, has been voted top diving destination by
BBC Holiday, and the designated marine park Redang has coral reefs
galore.

Spa enthusiasts can tend their needs at a whole host of resorts
including the Magellan Sutera Harbour, Nexus Resort on Kota
Kinabalu, the Mandara Spa at the Datai and the Andaman and Jamu
Nature Spa, both on Langkawi, the Pangkor Laut Resort and at
Tanjong Jara on Terengganu.

Golfers have more than 350 courses at their disposal – some
designer – carved out of jungles, palm and rubber plantations
and encompassing highlands, beaches, islands and cities. For real
enthusiasts there’s even night golfing at Glenmarie in Kuala
Lumpur or at Sutera Harbour resort in Kota Kinabalu, which was the
official headquarters for the Survivor television programme.

Operator view: Malaysia Experience product and
marketing manager Tracey Andrews said: “Malaysia’s
attractions include beautiful beaches and scenery, culture, soft
adventure, delicious food and bargain shopping with a wide choice
of accommodation to suit all budgets. Our new and expanded brochure
features examples of multi-centre holiday options based on diverse
themes such as the Borneo Wildlife and Tribe Experience and
Romantic Malaysia.”

Sample product: Malaysia Experience sells the
Nexus Resort, on a peninsula 30 minutes’ drive from Kota
Kinabalu. The resort has a spa and 18-hole golf course, and diving
and snorkelling is available in the resort’s lagoon park.
Prices lead in at £809 per person for five nights’
twin-share.

Where: an hour’s flight from Kuala
Lumpur, with its large beachfront resort hotels, Penang is the
perfect destination for families looking to relax without having to
break the bank.

Four and even five-star hotels are affordable compared with the UK.
Most offer kids’ clubs, and facilities such as swimming pools
and restaurants are of a very high standard.

The legacy of Malaysia’s status as a former colony – it
is largely English-speaking and left-hand drive, for example
– are an added bonus. Langkawi in the north also offers good
beaches and a wide choice of hotels along with golf courses,
duty-free shopping and one of Asia’s largest aquariums,
Underwater World.

Operator view: Travel 2 Far East product manager
Zoe Tasker said: “Malaysia is particularly well suited to the
family market as it is a very safe destination, there are plenty of
tours and activities suited to young kids and many hotels offer
fantastic children’s clubs and often unique family-orientated
room types. The increase in our family market prompted us to
introduce a Family Friendly section on Penang and Langkawi to
assist agents selecting a suitable property for
families.”

Sample product: Holiday Inn Penang has a free
kids’ club and suites catering for up to three children
equipped with PlayStations, videos and televisions. Travel 2 has a
special offer of £18 per person, per night twin-share, with a
‘stay 14 nights, pay for 10’ deal between April and
December.

Where: more than half of Malaysia’s land
mass is covered in forest and the country is home to more than 600
species of bird. Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo lays claim to vast
areas of virgin rainforest and enough tropical flora and fauna to
keep David Attenborough in documentaries for months. Journey by
longboat through the jungle to a tribal longhouse before popping
over to Sabah, home to Mount Kinabalu and the Sepilok orang-utan
sanctuary.

Taman Negara National Park, a 30-million-year-old jungle, offers
canopy walkways, panoramic views and nocturnal jungle walks.

Operator view: Premier Holidays head of Faraway
product David Carlaw said: “Malaysia has top-class resorts
and fine beaches, but is increasingly known for its nature product.
Clients like being able to combine nature with the beach or a city
stay. Borneo in particular has nature in abundance, the orang-utans
are the main reason people visit and feeding time at the sanctuary
is an amazing sight. The Selingan turtle hatchery is another
natural highlight.”

Sample product: Premier Holidays offers a 13-day
Journey to Borneo tour from £1,265 per person, including
flights and most meals. A two-day Turtles and Orang-utans add-on
from Kota Kinabalu starts at £175 per person, and includes a
one-hour boat ride to the ‘turtle island’ of Selingan
and a visit to the Sepilok sanctuary.

Where: Asia does luxury spectacularly well and
Malaysia, making maximum use of its spectacular natural
environment, is no exception. Few islands are more idyllic than
Pangkor and neighbouring privately owned Pangkor Laut, where a
half-mile sweep of beach is considered one of the best on the west
coast. And don’t forget the luxury Eastern and Orient Express
train which calls in at Butterworth en route from Bangkok to
Singapore.

Operator view: Magic of the Orient managing
director Tony Champion said: “Luxury in Malaysia is actually
very affordable as the destination offers such good value for money
and standards are exceptionally high. Staff are friendly and the
country boasts some of the top hotels in the region – all in
wonderful locations. Seclusion away from it all is key – for
example in Langkawi, the Datai is surrounded only by jungle and
Tanjung Rhu sits alone on a stunning white-sand beach. Tanjung Jara
is in a secluded bay on Pangkor Laut.”

Sample product: a week at the five-star Tanjung
Rhu in September or October starts at £1,045 per person
twin-share, including flights. A week at the five-star Datai, where
some rooms feature private plunge pools, starts at £1,192 with
Magic of the Orient.