Friday, January 11, 2008
CLOTHING, sports attire and cosmetics are the top three product categories in Bruneians' shopping list in Malaysia's capital city, according to findings of a preliminary study of 200 Brunei tourists to the neighbouring country last year.
About 83 per cent of Brunei tourists who travelled to Kuala Lumpur did so for shopping, whilst 42.5 per cent cited sightseeing as their main purpose for their holiday to the Malaysian capital, highlighted Ali Yusob Md Zain, a lecturer at Universiti Brunei Darussalam's Faculty of Business, Economics and Policy Studies.
Based on the latest figures from Tourism Malaysia, there was a "big jump" of 300,000 more Bruneian tourist arrivals, from 486,344 in 2005 to 784,446 visitors in 2006, he pointed out. Furthermore, it was estimated that more than RM$36 million ($15 million) was spent from Brunei tourists to Malaysia in 2006, compared to over RM$31 million ($13 million) the previous year.
In the survey conducted early last year, he offered that one of the possible reasons why Bruneians favour shopping in Kuala Lumpur is because they enjoy a higher purchasing power as a result of the currency exchange, which currently stands at over RM$2 to $1.
"Bruneians go for brands that are not available in their country," he reasoned, while presenting a paper at UBD's International Conference on Business and Management recently.
He said that to further understand the Bruneian tourists, good skin is gradually becoming a way of life, thus the reason behind why some Bruneians are increasingly purchasing cosmetic products.
"Safety and political stability of the country are the two most important factors which made them choose Malaysia as a holiday destination," he said. Furthermore, many similarities such as language, local cuisines and customs also play a key part in the selection process.
He further said that respondents were generally satisfied with most of the services, including at restaurants, customs and immigration services, as well as shopping facilities.
Public transportation was one of the aspects that needed further improvement, according to the respondents in the data that was collected based on questionnaires distributed to Bruneian tourists at selected tourist locations and hotels all over Malaysia.
The majority of the respondents in the study pointed out that they usually spend less than one week in Malaysia and were often accompanied by family members.
However, he went on to point out that the findings of the study should be interpreted with caution as results did not apply to all Bruneian tourists who visited Malaysia during different times and at different locations.
The outcome of the research was hoped to better understand the decision-making and planning processes of Bruneian tourists primarily opting to choose Malaysia as their ideal holiday destination.
The Brunei Times
Full paper
No comments:
Post a Comment