American Chopper Lures Visitors To Malaysia

NEW YORK, Oct 5 (Bernama) -- Orange County Choppers, a custom and production motorcycle manufacturer in Newburgh, New York, teamed up with Tourism Malaysia's New York office to build the 1Malaysia Chopper.

The special motorcycle was featured on the U.S. based Discovery Channel series American Chopper: Senior vs Junior that was first unveiled in Malaysia on March 24, 2012.

The special motorbike was created to mark an initiative by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to highlight the strong cultural harmony within Malaysia.

Najib's famous line; "We have many ethnic groups, including Malay, Chinese and Indian, along with indigenous tribes, but we stand together as one Malaysia" resonated well, and was emblematic of the 1Malaysia concept.

American Chopper, a reality television series, centered on Paul Teutul Sr. (also known as "Senior"), the founder of Orange County Choppers, who made his first ever visit to Malaysia a few months ago.

Teutul Sr. praised Malaysia's "cultural diversity and its very friendly people".

AMERICAN CHOPPER PROVIDES A WINDOW OF MALAYSIA

The comments were well received in the United States and helped provide greater visibility for Malaysia as an attractive destination, according to Salahuddin Mohd. Ariffin, the Vice President of Tourism Malaysia at its New York office.

In an interview with Bernama in his office, Salahuddin said that the two episodes of 'American Chopper: Senior vs Junior' had featured the construction of the bike, the unveiling ceremony in Malaysia and Teutul Sr. exploring Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur.

These were premiered on the Discovery Channel in the U.S. in April and May 2012 and the New York office says that the outcome from the episodes has been positive for Malaysia's image.

"Positive public comments from Mr. Teutul have been well received..." Salahuddin maintained.

Another personality Anthony Bourdin, a celebrity host for the television series called 'No Reservations' on the Travel Channel focusing on food, helped promote Malaysia as a food destination.

THE LURE OF MALAYSIA'S CULINARY DIVERSITY

Bourdin who visited Malaysia in February made a strong statement in favour of Malaysia's culinary diversity.

Tourism Malaysia's New York office has seen a subsequent surge in tourism traffic from the United States to Malaysia.

Despite the enormous geographic distance and the lack of direct connectivity to Malaysia, traffic has, in fact, increased from this part of the world to Malaysia.

Indeed, 119,528 U.S. travelers visited Malaysia in the first half (January to June) of 2012, recording an 18.9 per cent growth compared to the same period last year. The U.S. traffic is the second highest, behind U.K.'s 196,738 arrivals, amongst the ten long-haul markets for the first six months of 2012.

According to Salahuddin, American visitors spend over a week in Malaysia and, usually, combine their trip with another destination which is very likely to be Thailand, Bali or Singapore.

BORNEO CAPTIVATES AMERICANS

"If American tourists visit Borneo, then it's probably their only destination. Borneo in itself consumes all their time because of its sheer natural splendor, pristine beaches and wildlife. Americans recognize Borneo as a brand," Salahuddin added.

Scuba diving is a favourite past time while vacationing in Borneo. Americans also like to explore city life, try out different cuisines in Borneo, etc.

"Sabah and Sarawak are good selling points because they are unique," Salahuddin said.

On the other hand, tourists visiting Peninsular Malaysia are likely to combine their trip with another destination.

Unlike in Europe, where people tend to tighten their belts when there is an economic downturn, Americans continue to be big spenders. They are also increasingly venturing into Asia more than Europe.

MORE AMERICANS COMING TO MALAYSIA

Juggling with figures, Salahuddin pointed out that the latest figures from the Office of Travel and Tourism Industry (OTTI) of the U.S. Department of Commerce revealed that during the first half of the year, some 2.20 million Americans had visited Asia (mainly India, Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and the Far East), posting a 9.1 per cent growth while Europe recorded only 5.6 per cent growth in the same period.

As America's trade relations with Asia intensify, more and more American travelers will visit the ASEAN region.

"The United States is a market inherent with good growth potential," Salahuddin said. However, Americans are also fastidious travelers and are emphatic about good service in hotels, restaurants, taxis, tourist guides, etc.

Tourism Malaysia's New York office is confident about achieving the target of 235,000 tourist arrivals from the United States set by its Kuala Lumpur headquarters.

"We already had 119,528 arrivals from the U.S. during the first half of the year, more than half of the targeted tourist arrivals for the entire year.

We have been, so far, happy with the trend," Salahuddin added.

In 2011, Malaysia received 216,755 visitors from the United States, generating revenue of about RM730 million (US$ 243.2 million), according to Tourism Malaysia.

Sourced: bernama