Sudipta Dev – Mumbai
From Walt Disney World in Florida to Universal Studios Singapore, destination theme parks have always been a great attraction for Indian families travelling overseas. Legoland in Malaysia is the recent exciting inclusion in the list. Located in Iskandar Malaysia, the sixth Legoland theme park in the world is a joint venture by IDR Resorts and Merlin Entertainments. “We want to promote Malaysia as a fun place for the entire family and welcome Indian families to celebrate the year-end festivities with us at Legoland. We have observed that many Indian families travel with their children with theme park and shopping as an important must-do in their customised itinerary. They prefer to spend less time in travelling and more in shopping and family entertainment,” said Manoharan Periasamy, director, Tourism Malaysia.
 |
|
Manoharan Periasamy
|
Legoland offers 40 rides, shows and displays of the famous Lego bricks of Denmark. There are seven themed areas of attractions for all ages, for instance The Beginning, LEGO Technic, LEGO Kingdoms, Imagination, LEGO City, Land of Adventure and MINILAND (the centre piece where Asian landmarks have been recreated using more than 30 million Lego bricks). One of the highlights of the park is the world’s biggest Death Star model. It is made from 723,150 pieces of Lego bricks. “From LEGO experiment centres to rollercoasters, the park is a day-long voyage of discovery for all the family. We look forward to working more closely with the travel trade and other partners here to increase arrivals from India to Legoland this year and in coming years. Malaysia is strongly perceived to be a real value for money destination in India and we will continue to be a favourite with the Indian traveller,” stated Periasamy.
Apart from Legoland the other products that Tourism Malaysia is focused on for the Indian market are – Sanrio Hello Kitty Town (opened in October 2012, located in Puteri Harbour Theme Park, first theme park outside Japan); helicopter tours (available at major tourist destinations, namely in Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi and Sabah); Sabah and Sarawak; wedding and honeymoon segment.
Periasamy reminded that in 2014, Malaysia will celebrate its fourth Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) with the theme ‘Celebrating 1Malaysia Truly Asia’. “The VMY 2014 promotional campaign has started this year with a series of year–long special events and activities leading to VMY 2014. It will contribute to the government’s target to receive 36 million tourist arrivals and RM 168 billion in receipts by 2020, as outlined in the Malaysia Tourism Transformation Plan (MTTP) 2020,” mentioned Periasamy.
