| James Kon |
THANKS to a weak Malaysian ringgit and a strong Brunei dollar, an increasing number of Bruneians have travelled to Malaysia for shopping trips in the first quarter of this year.
According to data from Malaysian Immigration, a total of 321,285 Bruneians visited Malaysia from January to March this year, which is a five per cent increase of the 305,899 Brunei visitors recorded in the same period last year.
The increasing number of Bruneian visitors was revealed by Zurina Abdul Samad, the Director of Tourism Malaysia in Brunei, during an interview on the sidelines of the agency’s Hari Raya open office yesterday.
Zurina expressed hope that the momentum would continue for the remainder of the year, particularly after Malaysia recorded a drop of 6.6 per cent of Bruneian visitors in 2015, compared to 2014.
She said Brunei’s strong currency was one of the main reasons for the slight increase, adding that Bruneians tend to shop more when in Malaysia, due to the bigger range of goods and brands on offer for tourists.
Zurina added that the statistics only showed the number of Bruneians who spent at least 24 hours, or stayed one night in Malaysia.
Zurina Abdul Samad (2nd R), Director of Malaysia Tourism Brunei, in a photo with staff
Guests enjoying the buffet. – PHOTOS: BAHYIAH BAKIR
Figures show that there were 1,213,110 Bruneian visitors to Malaysia in 2014, which dropped to 1,133,555 visitors in 2015, following the Malaysian Airlines tragedies and the Sabah earthquake.
However, Bruneians should find plenty of reasons to travel to Kuala Lumpur this year, with the ongoing 1Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival from June 15 to August 31, and the 1Malaysia Year-End Sale from November 1 to December 31.
On their upcoming collaboration with Brunei, Zurina said, “Our upcoming project is ‘Le Tour with Pemoda’, or the Darussalam Motorcycle Association, to be held at the end of year in conjunction with KL International Bike Week. We will also be collaborating with AirAsia to connect Bruneians beyond KL and tapping into other Malaysia states.”
Together with the Sarawak Tourism Board, she said, “Malaysia Tourism will be participating with Royal Brunei (RB) in the Brunei Travel Fair, in the first week of September.”
Regarding their agency’s Hari Raya open office, Zurina said, “Today, we are celebrating Hari Raya to boost networking with guests such as media personnel, travel agents, corporate clients and government officials.”
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