Shopping : Where is Cheaper? Singapore or Malaysia ?

When ever I am on tour, the tourists surely will ask me this big question : When shopping, which country is cheaper... Singapore or Malaysia ? What do you think?

Very unfortunately for the China tourists, because they will always go to Singapore first then only to Malaysia. So, most of the time, they will spend most of their money in Singapore. The Singapore tour guides will of course influence the China tourists to shop in Singapore. The poor China tourists ended up buying the wrong things which by right those items are cheaper and better quality in Malaysia.

Most of the China tourists are being influenced by the international famed Singapore as the shopping paradise. It is very unfortunate that some of them till this very day still do not know much about Malaysia.

As for the Indian tourists, they will ask the same question as well. But they are lucky because in their itinerary, they will usually arrive Malaysia first then only to Singapore.

The Indonesia tourists for sure know that it is definately cheaper to shop in Malaysia as they are our neighbour.

Now, the big question is why shop in Malaysia and why it is so much cheaper to shop in Malaysia? These are the following factors why it is cheaper to shop in Malaysia.

1) Depreciation of Malaysia Ringgit : During the 1997 financial crisis, the Malaysia currency, ringgit ( RM ) has depreciated terribly. Before the finacial crisis, 1 USD = RM2.50. After the financial crisis, the ringgit has depreciated to 1 USD = RM3.50. So, because of the ringgit depreciation of course it is definately cheaper to shop in Malaysia.

2) Duty Free : The Malaysian government took the advantage of the depreciated Ringgit and turn Malaysia a shopping paradise of South East Asia. The Malaysia government announced that there are about 30 items which are duty free for example : electronic products, jewelry, watches, cosmetic products, leather goods, etc.

3) Shopping Carnival : Due to the depreciated Ringgit, the Malaysia government also organised two shopping carnival in a year. The first shopping carnival is from the month of July to beginning of September. The second shopping carnival is from November till December.

4) Lowest Cost of Living : It has been reported in the newspaper that living cost in Kuala Lumpur has been the lowest compared to big cities in the world. Due to low rental cost, food and man power, the manufacturing cost will definately be much cheaper.

5) Production of Raw Materials : Malaysia has been the world's main manufacturer for a lot of raw materials like the palm oil, rubber, chocolate, tin, etc.

So, these are the main reasons why it is cheaper to shop in Malaysia. And as a proof, below is an article from the local newspaper, The Star.

Sources : The Star 13th Dec 2008.

JOHOR BAHARU: Singaporeans, despite facing some tough economic conditions back home, are still the big spenders in Malaysia.

Figures gleaned from the 2008 Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival statistics showed that Singaporeans spent the most with a whopping RM64.7mil in credit card transactions.

Indonesians are next with RM42.9mil and that is why Tourism Malaysia is confident that the Malaysia Savings Sale 2008, which began on Nov 29 and ends on Jan 4, will enjoy the same success, if not better.

Speaking at the Johor launch of the Malaysia Saving Sales 2008 at the Plaza Pelangi on Friday night, Datuk Idros Mohd, the chief executive officer of Pempena Sdn Bhd, the Shopping Malaysia arm of the Tourism Ministry, said that Singapore was still the country's No 1 market.

"There is no denying that we depend a lot on Singaporeans as far as tourist arrival figures are concerned. In fact, last year we welcomed an estimated 10.5 million Singaporeans. "In a way, the Malaysia Savings Sale 2008 is targetted primarily at the Singapore market and Johor Baru being the closest to the republic is our main focus."People say that during these tough economic climate, shopping is the last thing on their minds. But I see it as a blessing in disguise for Malaysian retailers. "Times are tough and consumers are more careful with their money. That's why it's so attractive for Singaporeans to make their short hop-over to Johor Baharu to shop because of the favourable exchange rate," he said.

The opening of the new Customs and Immigration Complex scheduled for Tuesday also means that Singaporeans will enjoy a smoother drive into the city, Idros added.

The Malaysia Savings Sale 2008 was first launched by Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said at the Pavillion in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 29 and since then it had launches in Langkawi, Miri, Kota Kinabalu, Penang and now Johor Baru. - Bernama

Importance of Being Able To Speak Various Language

Since the month of May,2009, it has been very very low season for most China market tour guides. Previously, on average there will be about 30 groups coming into Malaysia via Singapore. But these days there are only about 5 China groups per day.

I was told that the China government started to impose strict regulations to all the travel agents in China. If there is any complaint from the chinese tourists, then the China travel agent will be black listed.

As for the China tour leaders, they are also strictly controlled as well. They have to deposit RMB40,000 and to ensure that there will be no complaints towards them. Or else their deposit will be forfeited.

Due to this reason, the China travel agents are very reluctant to market their tours to South East Asia.

Of course there are other reasons like the recession and also the H1N1 that made the China tourists reluctant to travel overseas as well.

I am one of the lucky tour guides for I am able to speak fluent English and Malay. As such, I am able to take the Indian and also the Indonesia tourists. I was told some of the China market tour guides can only lead a group a month.

As for last month, I lead a China group, an Indian group and also two Indonesia groups.

So, it is very important that as a tour guide, we must be able to speak various languages in order to survive.

Being able to lead various countries tourists is also an added advantage because I am able to know the habits, culture, likes and dislikes of the tourists.