SHAH ALAM, Oct 1 — Thanks to the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain GP, demand for accommodation in Sepang has soared by 1,600 times, with some visitors looking for hotel rooms as far as Petaling Jaya, said Tourism Selangor chief executive officer Chua Yee Ling.
She said most hotels in Sepang are fully booked, including those near IOI City Mall, which will also be housing staff of the F1 race.
“On the day of announcement, the number of accommodation searches for ‘Sepang’ and ‘Kuala Lumpur’ on the platform (Trip.com) soared by 1,600 times, not including other booking platforms and direct bookings with hotels,” she told Media Selangor.
Chua also said F1 drivers and their entourages, among them Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Cadillac-Ferrari’s Valtteri Bottas, are promoting Selangor as some of them have visited state tourism sports.
The drivers uploaded social media posts of them visiting Splash Mania Water Park and cycling in Gold Coast Resort.
“Kimi is a popular racer at the international level, and so is Valtteri Bottas. Now they have visited attractions in Selangor and shared their experience on social media, kicking off a ‘celebrity effect’ which is indeed a highly valuable promotion of Selangor.
“Just one of their posts … brings greater exposure than our many promotional campaigns. It not only quickly draws attention from racing fans and global tourists, but indirectly improves the reputation and presents great economic impacts to the tourism industry,” she added.
Chua said visitors are encouraged to use public transport or e-hailing to get to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), which will increase demand for these services and stimulate the transport sector.
She explained that Tourism Selangor wants to take advantage of the period between the Bahrain GP (October 2 to 4) and the Singapore GP (October 9 to 11) to keep tourists in Selangor.
“We previously (launched) promotion activities, including cooperation with hotels and tourism operators, to offer tourism packages and maps of tourist attractions in Sepang,” Chua said.
Tourism Selangor has also ramped up promotions on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to highlight Sepang as a tourism destination before, during and after the race.
