Malaysia as a preferred tour destination.

Date: 12 February 2013

Malaysia as a preferred tour destination.

Tourism Malaysia in association with Malaysia Airlines organised a promotional programme ‘Sales Mission to India’ in conjunction with South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE 2013) from January 7 to 18. The programme was organised in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi.

Business sessions (buyers and sellers meet) were being held in all the four cities which acted as a platform for the Indian travel agents to meet the Malaysian hoteliers, tour operators and tourism boards. Presentations were made by selected Malaysian industry players on new products.

Zulkifly Md. Said, Director of South Asia, West Asia and Africa Division, was leading the Malaysian delegation consisting of 17 tour agents, 21 hotel operators, six product owners, three State governments and Tourism Malaysia officials, to promote Malaysia as a preferred tourist destination.

He said “We are here to provide support to our partners in the Tourism Malaysia offices in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi. We look forward to working even more closely with our partners here to increase the number of visitors from India to Malaysia. For 2013, we are targeting 7,80,000 tourists from India to Malaysia while our overall tourism targets are to achieve 36 million tourist arrivals and RM168 billion (approx. USD55 billion) in tourist receipts by the year 2020.”

This promotional effort was expected to increase the numbers significantly, through heralding a greater awareness of Malaysia as an ideal holiday destination, as well as fostering greater co-operation between tour operators and members of the tourism fraternity.

Tourism Malaysia India’s successful foray into social media on Facebook, Twitter and blogs was supported by its strong offline presence. Contests such as ‘Live Your Dream Malaysia Contest’, ‘Showcase Malaysia Dream Deals campaign’, and ‘Choose Your Dream Destination (Facebook)’, were organised and prizes were distributed. Out of exciting entries, Shashikala Kataria won the grand prize, wherein she wants to ‘explore the chance to go scuba diving and experience the underwater world in Malaysia’.

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