HARD ROCK CAFE TO OPEN AT JONKER WALK NEXT SEPTEMBER

The Hard Rock Cafe Melaka which is expected to begin operations next September, can attract between 700,000 and one million patrons monthly.

Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the new tourism product would be built at a cost of about RM15 million on a 1,858 sq m (20,000 sq ft) site on Jonker Walk here.

He said the restaurant will be a new landmark for Jonker Walk, a focus of tourists from all over the world.

"The construction of the Hard Rock Cafe Melaka will certainly boost the state tourism industry through the presence of more tourists, who want entertainment, food as well as souvenirs offered by the cafe.

"Its presence is also proof of investor confidence in the rapid growth of the Melaka tourism industry," he told reporters after witnessing a signing ceremony between the Historical Melaka City Council(MBMB) and Sovereign Creations Sdn Bhd in relation to the construction of the project. - Bernama

HIGH SPEED TRAIN FROM KL TO SINGAPORE CAN BENEFIT MELAKA

Recently, Spad announced that they are doing a study on the proposed high speed rail link from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. It shall be ready in8 weeks time. The study hopes to study the impact of this proposed project on property development, transport and social implication to Malaysia and Malaysians alike.

If this project does take off in the future, it can take a route via the following places:-

Kuala Lumpur - Putra Jaya - KLIA - Port Dickson - Kuala Sungai Baru - Masjid Tanah - Sungai Udang - Melaka - Merlimau - Muar - Batu Pahat - Kukup - Tuas - Singapore.

A high speed express train can stop at major cities/towns with minimum stops which the journey can be done within 2.5 hours especially for business and corporate travellers.

Another train can offer the rides in 3,5 hours with stops at more stations where travellers want to travel at a leisurely pace eg tourists and locals at cheaper rates.

Direct impact on development can occur in Kukup/Pontian/Batu Pahat/Merlimau/Melaka/Masjid Tanah/Kuala Sungai Baru/Port Dickson /KLIA/Putrajaya/Cyberjaya/Kuala Lumpur.

The high speed train service can unlock the property potential along the route and allow inter country commuting within Malaysia and Singapore. Investors will be keen to invest in Malaysia by staying in Malaysia but can still work in Singapore and vice versa.

Some food for thought for planners.

TOURISM MELAKA WEB PORTAL SITE BREACHES 900,000 VISITORS

TOURISM MELAKA WEB PORTAL SITE BREACHES 900,000 VISITORS

It is very heartening to see that our Tourism Melaka Web Portal site at www.tourism-melaka.com has received more than 900,000 visitors. This historic mark was breached 3rd. March 2011.

Started in 2001 as a web portal to "Bring Malaccans Together and Malacca to the World", www.tourism-melaka.com began slowly. However, as the years go by, more and more visitors logged into our site as they searched for "Melaka" or "Tourism Melaka".

For 2 years, our website was selected by Tourism Malaysia website as the site to promote Melaka. This helped in increasing our web presence before Tourism Malaysia revised their official website.

In July 2008, Melaka was announced to the world as a UNESCO World Heritage City together with Georgetown in Penang. This further boosted our web visitors and worldwide interest.

To date, about 500 visitors per day come to our front page at www.tourism-melaka.com before going into our content websites for details about Melaka. We expect to reach our next target of 1,000,000 visitors in September or October 2011.

We welcome our visitors to our web portal site and for your continuous support in visiting Melaka and our websites.

Thank you.

NEW 5 STOREYS HOTEL BEING RENOVATED AT JALAN KEE ANN, MELAKA.

2nd. March 2011

Another building at Jalan Kee Ann is being renovated to be a hotel. Currently, the space is boarded up so that renovations works can be done to turn the whole building into a hotel. The new hotel is expected to have 50 rooms.

Over the years, Jalan Kee Ann has seen a number of budget hotels being operated. Popular hotels include Mimosa Hotel, Gold Leaf Hotel and recently re-opened Hallmark Inn (formerly Regal Hotel at Jalan Munshi Abdullah. Another hotel, Riverside Hotel at the end of Jalan Pasar Baru, is expected to open soon.

Being located near to the Heritage area of Melaka, visitors can stay at Jalan Kee Ann/Bunga Raya area and have a leisurely walk to the heritage area. Ample car parking spaces are also available around the area.