Kuala Lumpur, 24th
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.
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| 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.
