TOURISM NEWS

Malaysia Reaches 25th Spot in Environmental Index

Malaysia made a big jump in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) by moving up 27 places to the 25th position among 132 countries this year.

Malaysia is the only ASEAN country in the top 25 of the 2012 EPI and in the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia was placed third behind New Zealand and Japan.

Among others in the top 25 are Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Iceland, Finland, Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Belgium.

Dr Zaini, the Malaysian Environmental Quality Council chairman says “the EPI is important because other than looking at a country's political stability and security, tourists and investors were giving more priority to environmental issues before deciding to visit or invest.

“Despite much improvement in the country's environmental challenges, there is still room for improvement, especially in forest management and climate change.”

Malaysia’s target is now to move to 15th place in time for the 2014 World Economic Forum.

Kuala Lumpur Voted 7th Most Visited City
Kuala Lumpur was placed as the 7th most visited city in Euromonitor International’s latest Top City Destinations Ranking, covering 100 of the world's leading and most dynamic cities in terms of international tourist arrivals.

After recording a decline in 2009, international arrivals to countries regained growth in 2010, positively impacting results for the top 100 cities, which saw arrivals increase by 7%.

Star performers in 2010 were emerging city destinations located in Asia Pacific, thanks to a strong economic environment and growing travel and tourism dynamism.

Most European cities lagged behind as a result of the weak economic prospects in the Eurozone, which impacted intra-regional travel.

DESTINATION NEWS

LEGOLAND to open this year in Malaysia
Kiwi LEGO fans will be excited to hear that LEGOLAND Malaysia is on track to officially open in the second quarter of 2012 and is scheduled to attract a million visitors in its first year.

The world's sixth LEGOLAND and Asia's first, LEGOLAND Malaysia, is located in Iskandar Malaysia and will encompass 76 acres of adventure geared towards family fun.

Packed full of more than 40 rides, shows and attractions, nearly all of the rides are hands-on so you can push, pull, pedal, program, steer, squirt, splash, crawl and climb through a full day of non-stop fun.

The park is divided up into seven themed areas with each one designed to ensure that visitors of all ages will find much to explore and enjoy at the LEGO® experiment centres, roller coasters, water attractions and shows.

The centrepiece of the park is MINILAND - a 1.20 scale of famous Asian towns and landscapes that have been recreated from over 25 million LEGO bricks. To make MINILAND as realistic as possible, people, animals, cars, ships, trains and aeroplanes can be moved at the touch of a button – together with the appropriate background noises.