VISIT KL CONCIERGE LAUNCHED: KUALA LUMPUR CITY HALL PARTNERS WITH AGATE GROUP TO REACH OUT TO TOURISTS

Kuala Lumpur, 24^th February 2014: 

The Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Bin Hj. Talib, today officially launched the new tourism service; “Visit KL Concierge”located at the entrance to the KL City Walk, along Jalan P. Ramlee.

KL Mayor Ahmad Phesal (second from right) launching the new 'Visit KL Concierge' at City Walk, Off Jalan P. Ramlee. SUNPIX by DANIEL CHAN

The first Visit KL Concierge kiosk officially begins operation as of today and will be operational from 9.00am to 10.00pm daily including public holidays. It will provide a one-stop information service to tourists requiring information on a wide range of tourism aspects including:

1.      Information on accommodation, transportation, attractions &the weather
2.      Information on up-coming events and happenings in the city
3.      Printed materials such as brochures, maps and leaflets
4.      A distribution centre for discount coupons and shopping cards
5.      Ticketing facilities for airlines, hotels, bus, attractions, shows and events
6.      Sales of golfing packages and other tour packages
7.      Sales of mobile SIM cards and broadband data packages
8.      Foreign currency exchange facilities
9.      Digital Promotions and Wi fi services
0.  Sales of Handicraft souvenirs
1.  Car Rental, Taxi & Limousine booking service

“As you know, KL is a unique urban tourist destination with diverse tourism products, friendly people, stunning parks and so famous for our mixed cultures, heritage and traditions that are blended together through our festivals, music and foods. We have an excellent recreation, entertainment, sport activities and world class accommodation and shopping experience. But it can become pointless if we do not communicate it ‘right’ to our visitors”, said Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal, Mayor of Kuala Lumpur.

“And now we have Visit KL Concierge that will be a very important contact point for tourists when they enter KL city center and this kiosk is committed to service the needs of visitors as effectively as possible including inspiring ideas on how to get the best out of their stay in KL”, added the Mayor.

The model for Visit KL Concierge is based on the best international practice model developed by DBKL Tourism Unit and Agate Group (M) Sdn. Bhd. and the service hosts are trained to provide an outstanding service to tourists as well as other stakeholders. And this model was developed not only to assist with enhancing the experience of tourists but also to contribute to the local economic development of the city including expanding business opportunities.

The Visit KL Concierge enhances the main logic of bringing inclusive effective local structures together for driving development, management and promotion of the tourism sector in KL. It will also plays an important role in tourism marketing and leveraging the tourism benefits to all players in the tourism industry; because it exposes visitors to choices they would not easily access before, since some tourism businesses lack resources for marketing.

“The Visit KL Concierge Kiosk is a perfect example of collaboration between–government and the private sector.  DBKL have been spearheading many initiatives to further develop the KL tourism industry, but the success also depends on the private sector. For example, this project is fully funded by Agate Group (M) Sdn. Bhd. at cost of RM500,000.00 and KL City Walk supported this initiative by providing space to house the kiosk. Visit KL Concierge at City Walk will be the first of three such projects that we are launching this year with Agate Group, in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2014”, said the Mayor.

“By operating 365 days between 9am to 10pm daily, our target for Visit KL Concierge @ Jalan P. Ramlee is to service 60,000 local and foreign tourists annually”, added Mr Naina Mohammed Sultan – Managing Director of Agate Group (M) Sdn. Bhd.

Naina Mohamed Sultan said that the range of services provided at the Visit KL Concierge Kiosk would increase in the months to come. “We are currently working with several partners to provide products and services for the tourists at the kiosk. For example, we are partnering with Karyaneka to promote Malaysian handicrafts – they placed their vending machine at the kiosk.And we are in negotiations with other tourist attractions in the city, concerts organizers, shopping malls and transportation services among others in order to add value to the concierge service.”

 

  

About Agate Group:

The Agate Group was founded by Dr. Sultan Abdul Kadir in 1986, with its foray into the Duty Free retail industry. A pioneer in the Duty Free business, in 1989 the company was the first to create the Duty Free Plaza at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah International Airport in Subang. Currently the company has diversified internationally, entering other industries such as oil & gas, mining, properties, finance, information technology and power. Although, they have greatly expanded the scope of business of the company, Agate Group still has a strong connection to the tourism industry through their travel retail business.