Arabia tourist land to boost Malaysian economy

Malaysia based “Arab City” to attract Arab tourists


Melaka is the third smallest Malaysian state

CAIRO (AlArabiya.net)

The
developer of Asia’s first “Arabia land” for tourists said Sunday his
new leisure project aims to offer up to a thousand local jobs by next
March.

Up to 850 jobs will be available to locals of the state of Melaka,
where Sheikh Saleh al-Mansour’s first Arab City in Asia is scheduled to
finish contruction early next year, according to the Malaysian-based
Asia Daily News.

He said the project would begin hiring local Malaysian staff in August.

Local employees, who will make up 75 percent of the staff at the Arab
city, will receive a seven-month training course on Arab language and
culture to enable impeccable service to Arab and non tourists.

” Once the complex and facilities are completed, the workers will be able to attend to the visitors, mainly Arabs, with ease “

Mansur, Arab developer

“Once
the complex and facilities are completed, the workers will be able to
attend to the visitors, mainly Arabs, with ease,” Mansur, president of
Golden Heritage investment company and the primary developer of the
project, said at a press conference in Malacca Sunday, predicting that
more business opportunities would emerge when the project generates
“more economic growth in Malacca.”

Experts in tourist and commercial services from the Arab world will
supervise the city’s multiple restaurants, health spas and bazaars.

Worth $300 million, the Arab City project will include a trading center
in Kampung Jawa with various shopping bazaars, Arabic themed
restaurants, cafes and a museum of Arabic artifacts. A five-star hotel
and resort, sports clubs and a medical center in Klebang are also part
of the project.

Hesham al-Din Fathi, managing director of Saleh’s GCH company, said the
project is bound to attract tourists from Arab countries who frequent
Asian countries all year round, and spend an average of 10 times more
than other tourists.

” Our
targeted visitors will be Arabs and so we will embark on a major
promotion in all Arab nations to tell them that they can visit the
World Heritage City of Malacca “

Hesham al Din Fathi, manager of GCH

“Our
targeted visitors will be Arabs and so we will embark on a major
promotion in all Arab nations to tell them that they can visit the
World Heritage City of Malacca and, at the same time, feel at home with
the services, facilities and attractions at the Arab City,” Fathi
explained.

Malaysian tourism reports show Arab tourists are increasingly seeking
“halal tourism” in Malaysia among other Muslim Asian countries
especially after Sept. 11, 2001 when more Arabs avoided western
countries as a result of racial profiling.

The country’s tourism industry has seen a sharp rise in the number of
big-spending tourists from the Middle East in recent years, attracted
by the tropical country’s Islamic image.

Asia, Middle East & Africa, Travel & Hospitality

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