AS a couple, they are the exact opposites. One is the very symbol of Kuala Lumpur’s concrete jungle, the other is the man of the jungle.
But together, they are the biggest “poster boys” for Americans coming to Malaysia. We are talking about the Petronas’ Twin Towers and the Orang Utan.
“The Twin Towers remain our iconic landmark. They know that Taipei 101 has overtaken us. But our advantage is that we have two towers!” said Mohamad Taib Ibrahim, Tourism Malaysia vice-president (New York).
Malaysia’s second best-known “face” among Americans is the Wild Man of Borneo.
“I am often asked ‘can we cuddle them?’, ‘can we touch them?’,” he said.
Americans, he said, preferred to see the orang utan in their natural habitat. They know about the renowned Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sandakan, and the Semengoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Kuching.
“They are more interested to know what we are doing to protect the orang utan,” Mohamad Taib pointed out as the name “Borneo” itself sounded very exotic to the Americans.
Come Sept 9 to 17, a Malaysian delegation led by Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor will be on a hard-sell mission to the United States and Canada.
Their first stop is New York City, followed by Toronto, Vancouver and Los Angeles.
“Our main objective is to inform and educate the industry about our tourism products. We also want to provide a bridge between Malaysian suppliers and the local players,” Mohamad Taib said.
Seminars, presentations, meetings with agents to draft tour packages; even lucky draws are in the line-up.
Among the Malaysian participants are Borneo Divers and the Hilton Batang Ai Longhouse Resort, besides representatives from World Amateur Inter-Team Golf Championship and Monsoon Cup.
“The idea is to showcase Malaysia as not just a leisure destination but to stress that we have other niches as well,” he said.
Tengku Adnan would also be opening the Naza Group-owned Crowne Plaza San Pedro in Los Angeles on Sept 15.
And in collaboration with Telekom Malaysia USA Inc, he would also launch in New York on Sept 10 a prepaid international phone card, where 60,000 cards will be sold in Florida, Washington DC, Virginia, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
These cards, in denominations of US$2, US$5, US$10 and US$20, will feature costumes such as the cheongsam and sari, plus the songket and “pua”.
“It is a way to sell the Malaysian brand. Hopefully, they can become collectors’ items as well.”
The aggressiveness of the Malaysian delegation is understandable.
Firstly, the focus now is towards long-haul markets such as the United States, Europe and Russia.
“A lot of our tourists are from neighbouring countries like Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei. Now, we want to target markets that are further away,” Mohamad Taib said.
But perhaps there is a more compelling reason. Although the number of American visitors to Malaysia went up by 15.2% to 174,336 last year, the figures still fell short of the targeted 180,000.
Apparently, the Johor floods and the unrest in Thailand have impacted the entry points in the south and north of the country.
Mohamad Taib acknowledged that the main stumbling block in selling Malaysia to the Americans was their perception of what a Muslim country was all about.
The images they have are kidnappings, insurgents and terrorists.
“But once they visit Malaysia, they know that nothing can be further from the truth.”
Still, the US market isn’t doing too badly.
A total of 45,525 tourists were recorded between January and March, which represented a 7.8% increase compared to the first quarter of last year.
In fact, Tourism Malaysia is targeting 200,000 American tourists next year.
As Mohamad Taib put it, the best-kept secrets about the country should be out.
