KUALA LUMPUR

MUST VISIT

Area: 243 km²

Population: 1.808 million (2017)

Airport 1: Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)

Airport 2: Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2(KLIA2)

Kuala Lumpur, officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (Malay: Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur) and colloquially referred to as KL, is a federal territory and the capital city of Malaysia.

It is the largest city in Malaysia, covering an area of 243 km² (94 sq mi) with an estimated population of 1.80 million as of 2017. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.564 million people as of 2018. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia, both in population and economic development.

Tourism plays an important role in the city’s service-driven economy. Many large worldwide hotel chains have a presence in the city. One of the oldest hotels is the Hotel Majestic. Kuala Lumpur is the sixth most visited city in the world, with 8.9 million tourists per year. Tourism here is driven by the city’s cultural diversity, relatively low costs, and wide gastronomic and shopping variety. 

MICE tourism, which mainly encompasses conventions— has expanded in recent years to become a vital component of the industry, and is expected to grow further once the Malaysian government’s Economic Transformation Programme kicks in, and with the completion of a new 93,000 square meter-size MATRADE Centre in 2014. The MATRADE agency is also the owner of the Malaysia International Trade And Exhibition Centre (MITEC), the largest trade and exhibition centre of Malaysia, which is a component of the larger KL Metropolis development situated in the suburb of Segambut. Another notable trend is the increased presence of budget hotels in the city.