Pankaj Udhas to perform live in Malaysia on 10 February 2013

By Anthony Tan | email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

 

Pankaj Udhas, a superstar singer in the Indian music industry, has been known to bring tears to his listeners' eyes with his emotive, smooth and melancholic singing accompanied by the Ghazal style music.

The Ghazal maestro had performed in Malaysia about a decade ago.

The organiser expects to draw a larger crowd this time as Udhas’ three-hour long concert will be held during the Chinese New Year break and in a bigger venue.  

Udhas is scheduled to perform at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre’s Plenary Hall at 7.30 pm on 10 February.

 

He ​released his first ghazal album Aahat in 1980 but shot to fame for singing "Chitthi Aayee Hai" in the 1986 film Naam.

 

 

​Udhas has performed as a playback singer for numerous films. He has recorded many albums and toured the world as an accomplished ghazal singer.

 

To date, Udhas has released over 50 albums and hundreds of compilation albums as well as performing in live concert tours.
 

Udhas with Farida

In 2006, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award.

Udhas is married to Farida with two daughters, Nayaab and Reva.

 

The concert is organised by Hitman Solutions and GHC Solutions, which were also responsible for bringing luminary stars as Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Sonu Niigaam, Imran Khan and Master Saleem.

 

Last December, they brought in Yo Yo Honey Singh, Jaz Dhami and Mafia Mundeer and had a sold out live concert at KL Live, Kuala Lumpur.

Udhas' concert is sponsored by Bharat Group, Cameron Valley, RJ Fashions and T-Club.

 

It is supported by Mumbai Se Sdn Bhd and Gurubai Sdn Bhd.

 

 

 

 The concert’s official media partners are Variasi and Kaboom, with logistic support by SAZ Occasions and audio video support by 365 Events.

 

 

Concert Presenters "Hitman Solutions and GHC Solutions" with the sponsors

 

The official food and beverage partner is Hyderabad Recipes, where we had the opportunity to try some of its food at the press conference to announce this concert.

 

Each concert ticket comes with a complimentary buffet dinner.

 

The tickets, priced at RM699 each for the VIP seats, RM499 (Zone 1), RM249 (Zone 2), RM149 (Zone 3) and RM99 (Zone 4), are available from Ticketcharge outlets.

 

Visit www.ticketcharge.com.my for more details or call the ticketing hotline at 016-9767189 or 03-92228811.

 

 

 

Globus family of brand appoints Sedunia Travel as GSA in Malaysia

By Anthony Tan | email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

Sedunia Travel Services Sdn Bhd has a good start in 2013 with its appointment as the general sales agent (GSA) for Globus family of brands, comprising Globus, Cosmos, Monograms and Avalon Waterways. Each has its own speciality and market segment.



From left to right: Raymond Smith with Teoh Leng Lan sealing the partnership 

Started by Antonio Mantegazza in 1928 in Lugano, Switzerland, Globus has grown over the years to become a leading operator of guided tours and vacations worldwide.

Its business development manager Raymond Smith, who is responsible for the continuous business development in Asia, said the company has confidence in Sedunia Travel to reinforce its sales growth as Sedunia Travel is one of Malaysia's top five travel agencies.

 

Malaysia is the company’s third largest ASEAN market after the Philippines and Singapore, and the fifth largest Asian market for its Avalon Waterways brand.
 

 

"We are confident Malaysia would be our largest market soon. I believe the Malaysian economy will remain robust and resilient and can expect double digit growth in demand for its products and services in 2013," Smith said.

 

The backdrop  keeps changing along the river bank, thus
refreshing your eyes and mind 

Avalon Waterways has 12 new tours for 2013, with river cruising in Europe, Egypt, Asia, the Mississippi River cruises in the United States and Galapagos. 

 

Its targets are the baby boomers, retirees and the corporate market as river cruising is still a new product but with room for growth.

 

The corporate market is packaged more with themed cruises centred on food, wine appreciation and arts to go along with the seminars, meetings and conferences onboard.
 

 

Sedunia Travel’s executive director Teoh Leng Lan is confident of achieving the target for this year based on Globus family of brands with each having its own niche.

Travel package resellers and Malaysian travel
consultants attending the briefing on the
new Globus products

Her company will be working with other travel package resellers, Malaysian travel consultants to sell Globus family of brands’ products.

It will also be supporting them with regular advertisements in the print media, product training and a fixed exchange rate that will be determined on the first of every month.

Thus, they do not have to take the extra risks in currencies exchange fluctuation.

“River cruises offer a different perspective from conventional travel by road in Europe. When you cruise along the Rhine, Danube or rivers in France, you can expand your wine appreciation skills, enjoy jazz festivals, extend your culinary skills appreciation or waltz to a symphony of destinations.
 

The landscape along the river bank changes unlike sea cruises where you practically see nothing except for miles and miles of open sea after the ship leaves port,” Teoh added.

Panoramic view of the cruise along Danube River

Smith chipped in, “With smaller capacity onboard the Avalon Waterways, you will get more attention from the staff.  There is no queue at dinner times. You arrive straight into the town with no long transfers from the port to the sightseeing destinations. It is also more relax, travelling at your own pace and best of all, guests onboard are unlikely to get sea sickness!”

 

For 2013, Avalon Waterways is offering a limited promotion for the Tulips of Northern Holland, Tulip Time Cruise, Balkan Discovery and Capitals of Central Europe.

In its current promotional offers, you get to fly for free to your destination to take your cruise. This offer will end once all the promotional cabins allocations are sold.
 

 

Visit www.seduniatravel.com and check out its competition whereby the grand prize winner will get to win a return flight ticket for two persons from Emirates Airlines to spend 13 days in Spain, France and Italy.

  

 

There will be 120 travel vouchers worth RM100,000 to be won. The second prize will see 20 winners getting RM1,000 travel vouchers each, which can be redeemed for any trips by Globus, Cosmos or Avalon.

 

For the third prize, the 100 winners to get a travel discount voucher worth RM600 each off any trip by Globus, Cosmos or Avalon.

 

Penang World Music Festival 2013 to feature 12 bands

By Anthony Tan | email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

The revival of the Penang World Music Festival (PWMF) 2012, after being kept in the freezer for the past two years, saw some hiccups and communication problems on its return.
 

Hopefully, in PWMF 2013, these issues will be sorted out by its organiser, Penang State Tourism Development and Culture Office, and event manager, UCSI Communications, whose staff include experienced people who have helped to build up Sarawak’s Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) to where it is today.

Among the two main issues faced in PWMF 2012  were:

1)    Shutter Bus Service



The shuttle buses were given an attractive body wrapped featuring the PWMF 2012

There was a shuttle bus service by Rapid Penang that ran from Bayview Beach Hotel in Batu Ferringhi and stopped in front of all the major hotels along this route and also from the Penang ferry terminal to the venue on an hourly basis.

However, due to lack of publicity of this service the buses were running almost empty on every trip.

 

This was a good idea to help visitors to get the PWMF venue and return to their hotels. However, this was not well executed by the organiser.

 

On the first night, the bus was allowed to drop visitors near the venue’s entrance at the designated spot with a big board stating the drop off point.

The designated shuttle bus pick-up point was taken over by private cars parking, which should not be allowed by the organiser in the first place. To reduce congestion and lack of parking space, the public was encouraged to use public transport but this was not well publicised and co-ordinated. Recommendation: A higher parking fee should be imposed for those who want to park nearest to the venue entrance.

A few hours later, one of the officials decided to redesignate the bus drop off/pick up point to about one and half kilometre away in front of the Hindu temple along the main road.

 

This change in the arrangements to the public was not announced during the festival. I waited like a fool for about 45 minutes at the original designated pick up point before realising something was amiss.



One of the senior citizen visitors had to

borrow a chair from the Waterfall Cafe

to sit after waitng for half an hour 



Like me, many of the public were unaware that they have to walk to the new pick-up point after the concert to catch the free shuttle bus service, which left quite empty.
 

The Rapid Penang bus supervisor was very unhappy by the way things were rearranged. They were given a dark spot by the road side with a table and chairs to wait for their passengers.

 

I was told Rapid Penang was one of the sponsors for PWMF 2012. I wonder will Rapid Penang want to be a sponsor again this year after last year’s experience?

A group of us had to walk all the way to the Hindu temple to catch the shuttle bus, which we had to pay a token of RM1 for the ride back to our official Hard Rock Hotel Penang at Batu Ferrinhi for the media. 

  

Can you believe this? The shuttle bus was not only relocated to a dark spot by the roadside, the ground was also soggy and muddy. We also donated blood to the mosquitoes!

2)    Lack of marketing and promotions

It is sad to see the Penang state government spending RM1 million without taking into serious consideration the sponsorship received in cash and kind to develop the PWMF into a major tourism product.

Compare this to the RWMF, which attracts an average packed audience of 6,000 people each night with 20% to 30% of the visitors from overseas.

The Penang state does not seem to have the right people to do job internally. Domestic promotion of PWMF 2013 within the country is lacking and needless to say its promotion to foreign countries.

There are not many music festivals and concerts followers in Kuala Lumpur or other big towns in Malaysia talking much about this event.

I visited the hotels along Batu Feringghi beach and was shocked to find that there was not much publicity done to promote PWMF. The organiser must find a solution to work together with the hotels as there may be hotel guests who may have the free time in the evening to attend PWMF.

 

(#1) 1/4/2012 At 5pm, people started to reserve the best spots by laying their mats, folding chairs on the ground

(#2) At 6.08pm The crowd started to build-up

(#3) As at 8.04pm the space infront of the stage was almost filled up

 

(#4) At 9.30pm The space in front of the stage is getting tight
but this the best spot as layout of the viewing area is limited
 

(#5) At 10pm the music is getting hot for many and
they got up to boggie with the tempo
 

(#6) At 10.45pm - All bands joined in the grand finale jamming session 

The organiser needs to strategise how to make the PWMF successful in terms of visitors in order to justify its return on investment.
 

Overall, we have a good event on hand with the PWMF. The organiser and event manager will just have to work much harder, get better organised and communicate with each other without expecting self glorification. 
 

Last year’s performing bands selected by the event manager were great and for those who had attended PWMF 2012, it was worth their money spent.
 

PWMF 2013 will take place from 30-31 March at the same venue, Quarry Park at the Penang Botanic Gardens.A total of 12 bands will be featured at this year.



MU from Portugal

Among them are Mu from Portugal, Kimi Djabate (Guinea-Bissau), Nasout (Iran), Alp Bora Quartet (Turkey), Saharadja (Indonesia), Inka Marka (South America), Kalayo (Philippines) and several Malaysian bands.

Each band, showcasing their unique music and instruments, is set to rock the Pearl of the Orient under the tropical starry nights.

 

 

Mu will present the upbeat Portuguese folk tune using the bazouki and hurdy gurdy, cello and percussion while Kimi and his talented musicians will serenade the audience with the sound of Africa on the balafon. 

 

Inka Marka will make their second appearance at the festival, having performed in 2007.This South American band will showcase the tunes of the Andes.

 

File picture of Inka Marka taken in 2007

Kalayo, which means fire, is expected to put the heat on at the festival with their melodic traditional folk music infused with pop rock beat.

All bands will have a finale jammed session on the final night. Besides the night performance, the musicians will conduct daily workshop sessions in the afternoon prior to the concert.

At one of last year's worshop sessions, the above picture shows the public learning to do the Salsa dance routine

These workshop sessions allow the public to participate and learn the unique music making processes from the international artists.

The tents are set up with the picturesque
backdrop of the former rock quarry

They will be conducted in the tents set up in the open air amid a tranquil and nature-inspired setting of the former rock quarry, which is surrounded by the rainforest and Botanic Gardens. 

Tickets to PWMF 2013 are priced at RM80 per day for an adult and RM30 per day for a child between five and 12 years old.

This is one event the Penangites should not missed and should also encourage their friends living outside of Penang to come and enjoy the music from around the world.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketxpress.com.my

4th Penang International Halal Expo and Conference 2013

By Anthony Tan | email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk
 

The fourth Penang International Halal Expo and Conference (PIHEC) 2013 will be held at the two venues, Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) and Eastin Hotel Penang.

The Halal Expo will kick off from 10am to 8pm on January 18-20 at PISA, which is currently undergoing upgrading.

     PISA is undergoing upgrading works to become Subterranean Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre (sPICE)

 

Penang’s state exco for Religious Affairs, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Abdul Malik Abdul Kassim (pic) said at a press conference at the state assembly building recently that the expo would comprised some 200 booths promoting Halal Malaysian products.

It will also feature international exhibitors from Belgium (1 Pavilion), Iran (three booths), New Zealand (two booths) and Australia (one booth). Other participating countries include Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. 

Abdul Malik said the state’s halal facilitation agency, Penang International Halal Hub (PIHH) Development Sdn Bhd, also known as  Halal Penang, was also working towards organising the Chief Ministers and Governors Forum during the expo, which is expected to attract over 30,000 participants, including visitors.

Besides the opening ceremony, several programmes have been drawn up at PISA.

They include Islamic fashion shows, celebrity chefs’ cooking demonstrations, exhibitors’ product demos, beauty demos, game shows, lucky draws and quizzes, Islamic performances and forum, Islamic Khat (calligraphy) competition as well as appearances by local artistes.

The expo is the second international halal event in the country after the Malaysia International Halal Showcase, which is organised by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation.

In line with the thrust of the PIHEC 2013, which is to project Penang as a global halal tourism hub, the conference component, which will be held on 19 January, carries the theme “Halal Tourism and Hospitality – Travel the World Muslim Style”.

 

The full-day conference is expected to draw some 200 participants, including hoteliers, travel agents, academicians, hospitals and the business community.

 

It aims to provide a platform for the convergence of academic perspectives and business aspects of tourism for Muslim travellers.

The conference is also expected to generate creative proposals and ideas for providing halal hospitality services and niche halal concept hotel chains.

The Venue:
 

Eastin Hotel Penang

How To Get There:

 
 

It is timely for Penang to target the growing Muslim travellers, which is forecast to outpace the growth of the other travel segments given the increasing demand for syariah-compliance products and services.

In last few years, national tourism organisations (NTOs) such as  Hong Kong Tourism Board, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Macau Government Tourist Office, Korea National Tourism Organisation and Taiwan Tourism Bureau are non-Muslim countries which have been coming to Malaysia to encourage Muslims to visit their respective country, assuring them that they can provide Muslim friendly products and services.

These NTOs have been working closely with the local travel agents to promote their packages in the MATTA Fairs each year as they see the potential of this market segment worth US$100 billion a year, which is expected to grow to US$200 billion by 2020.

 

Note:

I would like to thank Mary Ann Harris, Eastin Hotel Penang's general manager (pic) for bringing to my attention the 4th PIHEC 2013 when we met at the Penang International Convention and Exhibition Bureau’s (PICEB) official launch.

She was aggressively promoting PIHEC to the delegates attending the event and even invited me to cover it. She is one of the few people whom I met in Penang who is very committed to the MICE industry and wants to see the PICEB succeed. 

For more details on PIHEC 2013, visit www.halalpenang.com or call 04-2625444.