Press Release: travel360.com empowers street friends with Yellow House and the Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur

Yellow House Founder Shyam Priah, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur Executive Director Project Management Datuk Sr. Hj. Mohd Najib Bin Hj. Mohd, the 12th Mayor of Kuala Lumpur YBhg. Dato’ Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan and travel360.com CEO Spencer Lee unveiling the latest mural in Kuala Lumpur as part of the special partnership.

KUALA LUMPUR, 11 October 2018 - travel360.com, the digital expansion of AirAsia’s award-winning inflight magazine travel360, today announced a partnership with non-profit grassroots community organisation Yellow House and the Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) to further beautify the city and empower its people.

Through the synergy, travel360.com hopes to provide an even more experiential travelling journey by integrating real communities and their stories. Working with Yellow House through its ‘Unseen Tours KL’ project, the one-stop travel platform will be offering an exclusive ‘travel360 Dance-walking Tour’, led by trained former homeless and underprivileged urban people as the tour associates.

The event was officiated by the 12th Mayor of Kuala Lumpur YBhg. Dato’ Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan who unveiled a special mural to mark the collaboration. Also present at the event was travel360.com CEO Spencer Lee and Yellow House Founder Shyam Priah.

travel360.com CEO Spencer Lee said, “Travel is no longer just about fun-filled holidays but adventures and discoveries. People are now looking for social experiences and engagement with everyday people and cultures. We are excited to embark on this partnership to see the power of tourism in transforming the lives of people from different backgrounds. The exclusive tour is also an initiative to provide employment opportunities to the street friends in Kuala Lumpur by training them to become effective guides. We would like to thank Yellow House and DBKL for coming on board with their support in realising this vision.”

Yellow House Founder Shyam Priah said, “Unseen Tours Kuala Lumpur is not poverty tourism. Our tours are not about showing the poor side of Kuala Lumpur. In fact it’s the exact opposite based on the fact of who knows the streets better than our street friends. So in reality, we have simply turned the weakness of our street friends into strength by giving them an opportunity to create something that will uplift their life. It’s transformational, sustainable and it returns their dignity. With a partnership such as this, we hope to empower more lives as the social enterprise model allows scalability and to replicate to other cities.”

The 12th Mayor of Kuala Lumpur YBhg. Dato’ Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan said, ‘‘We welcome great partnerships like today as it truly shows that despite the scales of different organisations, we are able to come together with a unified mission to propel the city for the world. We have great confidence that the city’s latest mural will be a lively and positive addition that is bound to attract tourists and locals alike.’’

Located on Lorong Bandar 20, Jalan Tun H.S. Lee in Kuala Lumpur city centre and close to the Sri Mahamariamman Temple, the mural serves as a testimony of what can be achieved through the collaboration of organisations and NGOs for a social cause. The swings depicted uplift the perception of the marginalised street friends to show positivity and stability in a childlike nature. An interactive element is also installed on the mural that encourages public to share their passion to travel.

The ‘travel360 Dance-walking Tour’ is available for purchase on http://www.travel360.com/dancewalkingtour or https://yellowhousekl.com/unseentourskl/travel360-dance-walking-tour/ for RM85 per person. The unique tour includes interpretative dancing and flash mobs around local landmarks and the back alleys to experience the sights, smells and sounds of Kuala Lumpur. Participants will also learn the bits of lost history dating back to the late 1800s on how the city developed to what it is today.

travel360.com is a one-stop travel platform that allows all kinds of travellers to seamlessly explore the world with different offerings such as flights, accommodation, transport and activities, but with an added edge of content featuring inspiring stories of real people and communities.

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