BUKIT JALIL, 18 JANUARY 2013: The Minister of Tourism, YB Dato’ Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen unveiled a new and unique tourism attraction near Kuala Lumpur that would literally bring city tourists back to nature.

The Tourism Minister launched the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Mother Nature Tour Trail  during the soft launch and media walk-about of the three-day Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014 Promotional Campaign tourism carnival here today.

“Besides being a well-established university, UPM also has an abundance of natural assets and we have encouraged them to develop these tour trail packages. Both local and international tourists will be amazed at the natural assets  UPM has. We hope  these packages will drive home the message that we need to preserve, conserve and protect Mother Nature - our tourism assets for the future,” she said.

The tour packages, which is a collaborative effort between UPM and the Ministry of Tourism as well as Tourism Malaysia, opens up UPM’s vast natural surroundings – estimated at 1,100 hectares -- to the public. Tourists who purchase the special packages will get to experience various educational and agricultural tourism products such as the Ayer Hitam forest reserve, equine centre, deer farm, cattle farm where they can try a hand at milking cows, agricultural conservatory park, human anatomy museum, and the Serdang Gallery. Among the highlights is a natural waterfall and rapids in a self-contained jungle within  UPM.

UPM  - well known for its agricultural faculties -  will also show tourists its vast bio-diversity collection   - over 100,000 specimens in its museums and 16,000 life specimens.

There are a total of 13 packages on offer by three local travel agencies namely TM Tours & Travel, Mitra Kembara and Poto Travel & Tours, priced from RM88 onwards.

The soft launch and media walk-about also revealed other exciting activities that would take place at the tourism carnival from 18 to 20 January including a dedicated KidZone for children operated by Legoland, KidZania and Hello Kitty.

Meanwhile, the parks and gardens area displays a depiction of the ideal homestay garden showcasing  naturally existing tropical plants that are easy-to-grow and easy-to-maintain. A Malay kampong house is also featured alongside a pictorial exhibition of Malaysia’s parks and gardens.

The 1Malaysia Food Court will be abuzz with hawkers from all over Malaysia dishing out state specific dishes such as Jalan Davis rojak pasembur and cendol, braised duck in soy sauce, Otak-otak Muar, ikan celup tepung Terengganu, Laksa Sarawak,  hinava Sabah, and rendang tok Perak.

More than 2,000 lucky draw prizes worth approximately RM450,000 are up for grabs for visitors to the Tourism Carnival throughout the three days, including the grand prize of a Chevrolet Orlando SUV worth RM118,888 sponsored by NAZA. Other prizes include 100 Malaysia Airlines flight tickets to Langkawi, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak worth more than RM100,000 as well as a chance to be driven in a Ferrari and Maserati.

Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak will officially launch the VMY 2014 promotional campaign at 8 pm on Saturday, 19 January and draw the winning Grand Prize.

Visitors can also take part in five different competitions organised during the tourism carnival ranging from dancing to karaoke to band competitions. A total of RM13,000 cash prizes are to be won in addition to other gifts and hampers. The highlight of the competition is the Gangnam 1Malaysia Truly Asia competition. Registration for the various competitions can be made on site at the mini performance stage.

Note - Background Information:

The Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Malaysia are making early preparations to woo the targeted 28 million tourists the country is eyeing for the Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014.

A promotional campaign for the “Visit Malaysia Year 2014” will be officially launched by Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak at 8 pm on Saturday, 19 January 2013. About 100,000 people are expected to visit the carnival over the three days, with 30,000 people expected during the launch night.

The launch is part of a three-day tourism carnival to create awareness of the economic importance of VMY 2014 to all Malaysians. Entrance is free. The carnival opens on 18 January at 4:30 pm while on 19 and 20 January, events start as early as 10 am.

Visitors are advised to come early as parking at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium is limited. Alternative parking facilities are also available at Technology Park Malaysia with Rapid KL providing shuttle service at 15-minute intervals to the tourism carnival over the three days.

Alternatively, take public transport. The nearest LRT station is Bukit Jalil station along the Ampang-Sri Petaling line. On 19 January, the LRT service to Bukit Jalil station is available free from 6 pm to midnight.
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Issued by: Communications & Publicity Division, Tourism Malaysia
Tel: 03-8891 8000; Email: anisramli@tourism.gov.my
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