The winning property Formula in Malaysia

by Charlotte Ashton Malaysia

It is once again the season where the fast and the furious take to the circuit; wheels are hotting up and on the 5th April they’ll be even hotter as Formula One 2009 revs up for the second race of the season at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

Thousands of Formula One followers will be flocking to Malaysia to witness the motor racing spectacle and although Sepang International is unlikely to fill the full capacity of 130,000 due to the current economic climate, there will certainly be enough visitors to have a positive impact on Malaysian tourism and associated industries including accommodation.  
The organisers aren’t giving up on six figure visitor numbers that easily however, they have scheduled supporting events to take place over the weekend including a high profile post-race concert by Jamiroquai, in order to further appeal to the lucrative European market.
‘Alive with Adrenalin’ is the Sepang International Circuit motto, their forward thinking approach coupled with their three-point formula of ‘the Fun’, ‘the Experience’ and ‘the Convenience’, April promises to satisfy the avid motor enthusiasts and new spectators alike. Other events and competitions will be taking place over the weekend such as pit tours, autograph sessions and Go-kart lessons, creating an unforgettable experience.
It isn’t just the Circuit itself that is laying on entertainment for visitors, the Kuala Lumpur Grand Prix City programme will provide further fun for the fans adding to the combination of motor sports and music.
So, ‘the Fun’ and ‘the Experience’ have definitely been taken care of, leaving only ‘the Convenience’ to polish off the 11th Malaysian Formula One experience. Sepang International Circuit, close to the beach resort of Sepang is only a few miles from the award winning Kuala Lumpur International Airport, catering for up to 25 million passengers a year from across the globe. With transportation taken care of visitors also need a place to rest their heads and as Sepang is an international tourist destination, accommodation options range from hotels to private rental property.
Steve Worboys, MD of UK based real estate agency Experience International, comments, “Malaysia and the Sepang District in particular has proved incredibly popular with overseas property buyers. Many view the destination purely as an affordable, idyllic long-haul holiday destination but there are also buyers investing in property to take advantage of events such as the Malaysian Grand Prix. These events hold worldwide visitor appeal with the knock on effect of huge spikes in rental property.”
The Malaysian Grand Prix roars style and excitement and for property owners it is a winning combination. To get your property on the grid call Experience International for more information on +44 (0)207 321 5858or visit www.experience-international.com.
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Property for sale in the Sepang District, Malaysia:
Golden Palm Tree Water Villa
The Golden Palm is an exotic Gold Coast residence with the unique architectural feature of being situated on stilts over the sea. With fantastic facilities such as swimming pool, gym, spa and even a library, this resort is ecologically sustainable and the villa designs follow both Polynesian and Maldivian architecture.
Known as ‘The longest coastal paradise in Asia’ these stunning villas are built to a high specification and prices start from £102,400 / €110,970. For more information contact Experience International on +44 (0)207 321 5858or visit www.experience-international.com.
Sea-Tropics Village, Sepang, Malaysia
Sea-Tropics Villageis an exotic Gold Coast development with the unique design features of Maldivian Polynesian architecture. Overlooking a stunning landscape, the longest swimming pool in Malaysia, Koi ponds and the glorious coastline of Malaysia, villas are available in 2 and 3 bedroom styles.
Sea-Tropics Village also offers fantastic facilities such as a state of the art gym, spa and running and cycling tracks with various other historical and cultural opportunities in the surrounding areas. Shops, restaurants and bars are also available in the heart of the resort on Sepang Walk.
Only 25 minutes away from Kuala Lumpur International Airport these villas start from £111,531 / €120,911 for more information contact Experience International on +44 (0)207 321 5858or visit www.experience-international.com
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Russian tourist arrivals to Malaysia increase by over 50%

by Charlotte Ashton Malaysia

 

The latest figures to be released by the Immigration Department of Malaysia have shown a 51.5% growth in Russian tourist arrivals in April 2008 compared to April 2007.
 
The growth in Russian tourist arrivals has been steady since the beginning of 2008 with 7.8% growth recorded in Jan 08 (compared to Jan 07), 32.6% in Feb 08 (compared to Feb 07) and 50.8% in Mar 08 (compared to Mar 07).
 
In total over 1.7 million tourists visited the Southeast Asian country in April 2008 and a 0.8% increase for the period Jan – Apr 08 was recorded compared to the same period last year. Overall Singapore remained the biggest tourist generating market for Malaysia with 867,067 Singaporean nationals visiting the country in April 08; the UK came in at 9th place with 31,952 visitors, 24.5% growth compared to April 07.
 
These increases in arrivals certainly confirm Malaysia’s worldwide appeal as a top tourism destination. Steve Worboys, MD of Malaysian property agent Experience International, comments, “The increase in tourist arrivals both overall and in the Russian sector spells good news for the Malaysian economy.
 
We are seeing more and more people visiting this beautiful nation on holiday, falling in love with the people, the culture and the investment opportunities available and taking advantage of the Malaysia My Second Home Programme to purchase a second property. The coastal region of Sepang in particular is receiving great interest. Here buyers can purchase a 1 bedroom apartment from just £78,273 / €97,403 or a luxurious 2 bedroom water villa set on silts from £147,709 / €183,680.”
 
For more information please contact Experience International on 0800 612 0901 or visit www.experience-international.com.

Malaysia Widens Global Tourism Appeal

by Charlotte Ashton Malaysia

 

Magnificent Malaysia is a fascinating nation that has emerged in recent years as one of the most sustainable economic success stories of the Asian region.  It is therefore of no surprise that predictions for the continued expansion of the country’s economy are positive, and that the greater promotion of Malaysia’s appeal as a tourism destination and a second home location is proving highly successful.
 
Even in these uncertain global economic times, Malaysia is managing to remain in a robust position with average annual GDP appreciation in the region of an incredible 6%.  This is because the government remains active in diversifying the economy away from a dependence on the export of raw materials to achieve a status where today, Malaysia’s is an emerging multi-sector economy benefiting from the fact that foreign exchange reserves are healthy and external debt levels are low.
 
As an oil and gas exporter, Malaysia has benefited significantly in recent years thanks to higher global energy prices, but the government of the nation has not rested on its laurels because of this.  Rather it has sought to attract significant and sustainable levels of foreign direct investment through advantageous taxation and fiscal incentives, and the government has been active in the direct promotion of Malaysia as a stunning place to visit as well.
 
So far the government has actively supported foreign direct investment in the real estate industry in particular by abolishing restrictions on the foreign freehold ownership of property, by eliminating real property gains tax and by making the entire property ownership process transparent and straightforward.  This has drawn great interest to a nation which has an active and affluent property scene and which offers a far lower cost entry point into the regional real estate market compared to other favourites such as Hong Kong and Singapore.
 
In addition to this, the government designated 2007 ‘Visit Malaysia’ year, and they maintained a concerted effort of international promotion that pushed visitor numbers up by 10.5% last year alone, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s statistics.  Going forward, this massive promotional push has been backed up by solid ongoing investment into the tourism industry and related infrastructure in Malaysia, and now the nation is beginning to diversify the travel market further in efforts to draw even greater numbers of visitors.
 
At the moment Malaysia is targeting Nepalese tourism arrivals, seeking to push levels up to 100,000 annually – and Indian arrivals, which they hope to push up to 500,000 by year-end.  On top of this, the Malaysian tourism board is now marketing the nation to Muslim travellers and seeking to accommodate all their requirements – from mosques to halal cuisine.  The nation has already managed to significantly increase tourism arrivals from Scandinavia, Russia and China and now Malaysia is also focusing on niche tourism angles such as eco-tourism so that it can draw even more significant and sustainable interest from across the world.
 
Examining the Tourism Malaysia visitor figures for the past six years, one immediately recognises how all these sustained efforts are already paying off.  From 10.58 million visitors arriving annually back in 2003, Malaysia now manages an annual average of at least 20 million visitors, and the World Travel and Tourism Council predict that the nation is on track for between a 5 and a 7% annual increase in visitor arrivals between now and 2017.
 
To cope with the increasing visitor numbers, Kuala Lumpur International Airport which is located in the Sepang district of Malaysia is undergoing a series of expansion initiatives to develop more runways, more terminal buildings and to increase passenger handling capacity to 130 million passengers by 2020.  What’s more, certain areas of the nation have been designated tourism hotspots and they are receiving sustained and considerable investment as well.
 
Sepang is one such region – it is home, as mentioned, to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and it is also home to the Sepang International Circuit.  This is the Malaysian F1 venue and it is widely regarded as being the benchmark for other Grand Prix venues too, so significant is its impressive design as well as its state of the art facilities.  But Sepang has far more in its favour than a world class motorsport track and a global air transportation hub – it has one of the most stunning stretches of coastline in the world.
 
Dubbed ‘the longest coastal paradise in Asia,’ Sepang’s GoldCoast is being transformed into one of the most important tourism destinations in Malaysia that will attract both local and international visitors and become a property investment hotspot. 
 
The overall development of the coastline is being done in an ecologically sustainable way, with moderate density housing and maximum emphasis being placed on the protection and enhancement of the perfect natural environment. 
 
Many of the proposed property and resort developments along Sepang’s GoldCoast are being constructed out over the warm calm sea so that the surrounding ecologically rich areas are untouched by urbanisation or development.  One such groundbreaking development is Golden Palm Tree Water Villas where luxurious properties are being developed for sale to investors and second home seekers, and where the properties in questions are built on stilts over the ocean.
 
Following Polynesian and Maldivian architecture, the high-grade homes and the fabulous facilities of the Golden Palm Tree Water Villas development are finished to 5 star modern Malaysian standards inside.  Comprising 366 villas, the resort development will also boast swimming pools, gyms, meeting rooms and a business centre, a spa, coffee terrace and a library.  In the immediate vicinity there is a theme park, shops, restaurants and an abundance of leisure activities on offer, and what’s more, these properties come with a built in investment package.  This allows investors to remain as hands off from their Malaysian property assets as they like whilst still reaping a substantial predicted profit. Prices start from £147,709.
 
For more information contact Experience International on 0800 612 0901 or visit www.experience-international.com.