“Marhaban” (Hello in Arabic)
Every May to early September, signals a busy period for most 3-5 star Malaysian city hotels with influx of Arabian tourists who had to flee the hot temperatures in their home country of anything not below 40 degrees Celcius (104 Fahrenheit). During this period, Kuala Lumpur (“Bintang Walk” in particular) takes on a different facet to cater the more then 50,000 Arab tourists with Kuala Lumpur the main focal point.
Airports, major hotels and shopping centres deploy personnel to cater for Arabic speaking guests in an effort to encourage more Arabs to visit Malaysia besides providing them a feel of homely away from home.
The sprouting Arabian restaurants and shisha (water pipes) cafes around Kuala Lumpur, especially in the Golden Triangle area, indicates the seriousness of businesses in Malaysia on tapping the big spending Arabs during their summer holidays. This includes the setting up of Arab Street (“Ain Arabia”) located along Jalan Berangan, Kuala Lumpur lends further ambience.
Most of the Arab tourists focus stay is in city centres. Shopping in KLCC Suria whilst visiting the majestic Petronas Twin Towers and “Golden Triangle” shopping centres are the focal point. Lately, the younger Arab tourists have moved away from the norms and started venturing into tourist destinations outside Kuala Lumpur like Langkawi, Melaka, Kota Kinabalu and etc.
While Malaysia has so much to offer then just a shopping destination for the Arab tourists, the tropical rainforest of Taman Negara, historical sites of Melaka, snorkeling or diving of islands in East Coast and scaling of Mount Kinabalu would be something different that’s worth a visit.
Arab tourists with families would prefer service apartments rather then hotel rooms where they could stay together. Some would prefer to cook in the rented apartment rather then dining in the many halal restaurants in Malaysia which also makes their choice for food easier in Malaysia.
Many have even got themselves adapted with the lifestyle here which prompted the Arabs to re-settle in Malaysia with setting up of businesses here with kids going attending international schools here. This trend is growing and Malaysia is truly living up to its tagline of “Malaysia Truly Asia” a melting pot of culture.
Malaysians by nature are warm and friendly towards foreigners which add further appreciation by Arab tourists to make Malaysia their favorite destination. So what really drives the Arab to keep coming back to Malaysia?
(a) education tourism – many Arab families had enrolled their children into local learning
institutions in Malaysia,
(b) being an Islamic country, it speaks a lot of volume with regards to the way of life and access
to the many “halal” and vegetarian food,
(c) cheaper cost of living in Malaysia as compared to other Asian countries,
(d) peaceful, safe in terms of security and natural disasters,
(e) easy access around the city and inter-city and
(f) smooth entry into the country with the ease of immigration requirements including
Malaysia My Second Home (M2H) initiatives.
Start making hotel reservations early as Malaysia expects more Arab tourists this year.So where can they stay in Kuala Lumpur?
Service Apartments
(a) Peninsula Residence Suite Hotel
(b) The Zon All Suites Residences On The Park
Hotels
(a) Hotel Fortuna
(b) Dorsett Regency Hotel Kuala Lumpur
(c) Corona Inn
(d) Kuala Lumpur International Hotel
(e) Wira Hotel
(f) Mandarin Court Kuala Lumpur
(g) Pearl International Hotel
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