MELAKA AIRPORT TO REOPEN IN JUNE

 MALAYSIA

Melaka Airport to reopen in June with flights to Penang via Batik Air

Friday, 27 May 2022 10:19 PM MYT

    

State Tourism, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis said the Melaka-Penang-Melaka route would be offered twice weekly from June.

MELAKA, May 27 — The Melaka International Airport (LTAM) in Batu Berendam here is expected to resume operations with the opening of the Melaka-Penang-Melaka route via Malindo Air or now known as Batik Air by this June the latest.

State Tourism, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis said two-way flights to the destination would be offered twice a week as a start and the frequency of the flights would be increased according to demand.

"This matter has been agreed by Batik Air through a series of discussions and in the early stages, we will open the Melaka-Penang-Melaka route before adding the next route which is the two-way flight Melaka to Indonesia via Pekanbaru after getting the green light from the Indonesian government.

"The opening of air routes through LTAM is very important in the effort to revive the tourism industry in the state, thus ensuring that the target of 5.6 million tourists to Melaka this year can be achieved," he said.

He told reporters this after the ‘Revitalise and Rejuvenate Melaka’ event with state tourism industry players here todayAlso present were Head of Sales (Commercial) of Batik Air Arasu Soundarajan, Head of Communication and Promotion of Batik Air (South Asia) Suresh Vanan and State Tourism Promotion Division General Manager Sa’ari Basiron.

Muhammad Jailani said through the opening of the air route, about 30,000 tourists are expected to use the flight service in the next six months.

Meanwhile, Arasu said the Melaka-Penang-Melaka route will use the ATR-72 aircraft that could accommodate 72 passengers.

He said that once approved, Batik Air would offer the Melaka-Pekanbaru-Melaka route and ticket counters would be set up at LTAM.

"Previously, under the Malindo Air brand, we have been operating at LTAM for both destinations namely Penang and Pekanbaru and the response received had been very encouraging.

"Batik Air has no problem working with the state government to reopen the route, thus helping to boost the tourism industry in Melaka," he said. — Bernama

DAILY OPERATION FOR JONKER WALK?

MALACCA: A proposal has been mooted for Uptown Jonker Walk to operate on a daily basis, instead of just the current Friday, Saturday and Sunday three-day-a-week system, to boost the economy of traders and the atmosphere of the popular tourist hotspot, especially during weekdays.

Jonker Walk Committee deputy chairman Datuk Gan Tian Loo said the proposal was being discussed with various parties, including the Melaka Historic City Council (MBMB) and the Tourism Promotion .

He said his committee had conducted a study and the proposal has received the support of traders and businesses in the uptown area.

“We have brought the proposal to MBMB and BPP as the area only comes alive on weekends as there is an ‘uptown’ night market involving 450 stallholders selling various products.

“While at Jonker Walk, we also have 200 traders trading in shop buildings and they hope people will visit Uptown Jonker Walk daily as they would on a weekend,“ he said at a press conference here today.

He said the increase in operating hours of Uptown Jonker Walk would also boost the state’s tourism sector and tourists could visit the area without waiting for the weekend.

He said the stage for performances at Jonker Walk will also be reopened for arts and cultural activities in June to enliven the uptown night atmosphere.

Gan also shared that Jonker Walk received an allocation of RM250,000 from the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry earlier this year for upgrading work on facilities in the area, which has been open since 2010.

He said the upgrading involved public toilets, gates as well as Jonker Walk World Heritage Park and MBMB had opened tenders to contractors interested in implementing it.

“The upgrading is important to provide comfort and safety for visitors to Jonker Walk as well as to infuse new life into the area,“ he added.

He said based on MySejahtera’s QR code scan records to Jonker Walk, a total of 302,939 visitors was recorded going to the Uptown Night Market in the first four months of this year.

MELAKA EYES INDON PILGRIMS

MELAKA: The Melaka Tourism Promotion Division will introduce a tourism sub-sector that makes the state a point of transit passage for Indonesians travelling to Saudi Arabia to perform the umrah via Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

State tourism, heritage and culture committee chairman Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis (pic) said through the initiative, tourists from Indonesia, especially those entering Melaka through the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex at the Melaka-Dumai International Ferry Terminal in Kota Laksamana here, would stay and shop in the state before going to Kuala Lumpur.

"So far, we have opened the sea route for tourists from Indonesia through the Melaka-Dumai International Ferry Terminal and we are also working to reopen the Melaka International Airport in Batu Berendam.

"With this move, tourists from Indonesia will stop to spend a day or two in Melaka before travelling to Kuala Lumpur and this will not only increase tourist arrivals but also benefit industry players," he told a press conference here on Tuesday (May 10).

He said medical tourism, which had received very encouraging response from Indonesians in the past, was also seen to be recovering after the recent reopening of borders on April 1.

ALSO READ: Melaka lines up promotional packages to boost tourist arrivals

He said in an effort to revive Melaka's tourism sector, the division was also designing a variety of family tourism packages at reasonable prices to attract tourists from all over the country as well as Singapore, Brunei and Thailand.

Meanwhile, he said some 200 tourism sector players in the state would be brought to Pekanbaru and Dumai, Indonesia for business-to-business (B2B) talks with government representatives there at the end of this month.

He said through the platform, at least 180 B2B memorandums of understanding (MoU) would be signed by tourism industry players in Melaka, helping them generate income and revitalising the tourism sector in both countries.

ALSO READ: Melaka eyes 5.6 million tourists through campaign

"We target at least one million tourists from Indonesia out of the total tourist arrival goal of 5.6 million this year. More aggressive promotion needs to be done so that the target can be achieved following the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Earlier, tourism industry players in Melaka signed 132 MoUs during our B2B discussions in Jakarta and it is a very good start for the country's tourism industry," he said.

He added that the state government was also working to make Melaka the host for the 32nd Malaysia Film Festival Awards later this year.

"It has been proposed that the festival be held at Encore Melaka. Discussions will be held with the National Film Development Corporation of Malaysia (Finas) soon,” he added. – Bernama

MELAKA SWARMED BY LARGE CROWD OVER RAYA

A check around Banda Hilir, here, found that several tourist hotspots in the area recorded an overwhelming number of visitors.

Trishaw rider Shazzuan Abdullah, 33, from Kampung Limbongan said this has given a ray of hope to tourism industry players like him who depend entirely on making a daily wage from ferrying tourists.

SShazzuan said he had even received customers from abroad such as Japan and England after the country entered the transition to the endemic phase and the re-opening of international borders on April 1.

"After performing the Aidilfitri prayers yesterday, I went straight to the Bandar Hilir area because demand for trishaw services is usually higher during the festive season.

"It is a big opportunity for trishaw riders to earn extra income. Yesterday alone, I managed to get more than 10 customers,” he said here.

R. Sinadurai, 47, from Bukit Mertajam, Penang, said he decided to travel to Melaka with his family because the state has many interesting places to visit.

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"We haven’t been here for quite a long time so we took the opportunity of the long holiday to come from Penang and spend two days here,” he said.

For Mira Rashid, 32, Melaka has always been one of her favourite places to visit.

"Apart from the various tourist attractions here, the colourfully decorated trishaws in Melaka are something that we don’t simply get in other places,” she said.

It was reported that the Melaka police expected a 50% increase from the average of 45,000 vehicles entering the state at three toll plazas ahead of the Aidilfitri celebration.

Monitoring of the traffic flow at entry points to the state also indicated a spike on April 1 involving 45,203 vehicles compared with 31,145 vehicles on March 31. - Bernama .bk

ENCORE MELAKA NEW EXCITING LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

 

Yong Tai Berhad: Encore Melaka unveils exciting live entertainment performances to usher in the return of theatreYong-Tai-Logo.jpg

Yong Tai Berhad: Encore Melaka unveils exciting live entertainment performances to usher in the return of theatreYong-Tai-Logo.jpg

Published a day ago

Yong Tai will collaborate with local and international artists to produce various live shows at Encore Melaka Theatre as it reopens on 30 April 2022
The Group will continue to pursue collaborations with local production houses to push for the creative live entertainment shows
Encore Melaka will serve as a one-stop solution for venues and sales channels to marketing strategies and will be able to cater for all event staging needs

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach - 29 April 2022 - Yong Tai Berhad ("YTB" or "Group" or "Company") has strategically positioned itself to tap on the return of the public to theatres as the reopening of society created an unprecedented demand for in-person and shared experiences.Yong Tai's strong engagement with various production houses that feature local and international artists and performers allowed the Group to collaborate with various performers to produce exciting, diverse and various live shows at its Encore Melaka Theatre this year. The Group also offers flexible packages to help local production houses get back on their feet after two years of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

*YTB's Chief Operating Officer, Datuk Zoe Tan, *said, "The uniqueness of Encore Melaka has given us the leverage to produce various live shows in collaboration with artists via its unique features. Encore Melaka is a world-class theatre engineered using the latest technology. The performance is presented in a new genre, and innovative art production – a 360-degree rotating auditorium and 4 main stages comprising a water & mist stage, lifting platforms, a multi-storey stage and Yarn houses and are well equipped with advanced audio and also a 3D video mapping projection. The theatre gives a truly amazing experience to every audience who visits."

The Encore Melaka show lineup is filled with exciting names and diverse performances. Among some of the live entertainment, art and cultural shows that have been scheduled up until December 2022 include "Mending the Broken Sky", a Chinese music and drum theatre produced by arts outfit Orang Orang Drum Theatre, "Mentega Terbang", a Malay language movie presented by Anomalist Production and "Will you marry me?" , a music talk show presented by Toh Harnniann.

There are other strong lineups of performances until September. These include the likes of "Tanjong" (Malay Theatre), "Tribute to Terese Teng & Fei Yu-Ching" (Chinese Concert), and the English theatre entitled "Emily of Emerald Hill" which runs from June to the mid of September.

The live performances slated to be performed in Encore Melaka is diverse, ranging from whimsical music and drum theatre, film, concert, talk show, piano recital and many more. To find more on the live performances scheduled, the audience can go to the link attached here: https://encore-melaka.com/show/.

"These live entertainments that we bring will help provide the "shared experience" that is missing during the pandemic. Sales of the tickets have been on track, and we see a lot of interest in these live shows despite the absence of foreign tourists. As we continue to reopen our international border and ease the process to travel into Malaysia, this will drive the recovery of our theatre business," Datuk Zoe said.

While the Group has previously focused on the Impression Series, the strategy has shifted towards a broader range of live entertainment, art and cultural shows using its state-of-the-art theatrical capabilities.

On top of that, the Group will also leverage its strategic location and multi-event venues such as multi-purposed halls, gardens, VIP lounges, seaside, hostel and many more that inspire and revitalize the audience with the best experiences. These venue spaces are well-infrastructured, and it is ready to gain momentum.

Encore Melaka Theatre can accommodate various events, including live streaming programmes, grand launching, beauty pageants, movie premiers, film shoots, award ceremonies, seminars, exhibitions, conferences and corporate events. At the same time, the other venue spaces can cater to many mega-events such as charity runs, triathlons, competitions and festivals.

According to Datuk Zoe, enquiries regarding the availability of Encore Melaka events have increased with the reopening of the economy.

"We have received a lot of enquiries on the availability of Encore Melaka for events at the beginning of this year. There are a lot of plans, such as 2 mega-events - City Drift in June 2022 & Year-end countdown in December 2022 that are in the pipeline. Both events were able to draw domestic and international tourists' visits to Encore Melaka." she said.

Beyond positioning itself as the venue for events, Encore Melaka will serve as a one-stop solution for all event staging needs and even cater for outdoor activities and marketing and ticketing sales. From superior audiovisual solutions, 3D-video mapping projections, outstanding stage design, and high-quality multimedia production to marketing and promotional activities and ticketing sales, local production houses can leverage the collaboration with Encore Melaka to produce engaging, entertaining live performance shows.

For event enquiries, please contact Encore Melaka event team +606 277 6657 / +606 277 7718. For more information, please visit www.encore-melaka.comAbout Yong Tai Berhad

Yong Tai Berhad ("Yong Tai" or "Company") is a Bursa Malaysia Main Market listed company whose core business is in tourism-related property development.

Yong Tai has successfully transformed into a Melaka-centric township property developer via its integrated 138-acre Impression City (RM7.7 billion GDV), featuring first-of-its-kind Impression Melaka via a 30-year licensing agreement. In addition, this iconic tourist landmark showcases large-scale live cultural music performances (the first Impression Series outside China).

SELAMAT HARI RAYA ADILFITRI

Tourism-Melaka wants to extend our Selamat Hari Raya Adilfitri to all Muslims in Malaysia and worldwide. 

May the Hari Raya be a joyous celebration with  your families and friends countrywide. 

                           Maaf Zahir Batin