MALAYSIA WINS SEVERAL ACCOLADES AT THE TRAVEL + LEISURE SOUTH ASIA’S INDIA’S BEST AWARDS 2012

Malaysia has once again proven itself as a leading tourist destination in the region by winning several accolades at Travel + Leisure India and South Asia’s India’s Best Awards 2012. The Felicitation and Awards ceremony took place at the Taj Lands End in Mumbai on 23 April 2013.Malaysia won the award for Best Green Destination (World) while Langkawi was awarded the Best Honeymoon Destination (World). The Kuala Lumpur International Airport received the award for Best Airport (World), Runner-Up.

Other categories in the awards include best emerging destination, best cruise, best business hotel, best airport, best luxury train, and best spa and honeymoon destination.
Travel + Leisure is a premier travel and lifestyle magazine based in New York, with a readership totalling to 4.8 million. It has been conducting the iconic World’s Best Awards for over 12 years, and after five successful years in the South Asian region, Travel + Leisure India & South Asia launched the first India’s Best Awards in 2011, and again in 2012.

The awards come as a proud addition to a string of other accolades that Malaysia garnered recently. Last year, Kuala Lumpur was ranked the second best shopping destination in Asia Pacific by Globe Shopper Index, while CNN listed it as the 4th best shopping city in the world.

Earlier this year, a survey carried out by Crescentrating, a Singapore-based Muslim travel consultancy, placed Malaysia as the top Muslim-friendly holiday destination, ahead of Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

This is a good indicator of Malaysia’s booming tourism industry, which has seen a steady growth in terms of tourist arrivals and receipts over the last decade. Last year, its tourist arrivals rose to 25 million, registering a growth of 1.3%, while its tourist receipts climbed to RM60.6 billion, which was an increase of 3.8%.