Travel fair off to a good start with crowds comprising locals and foreigners

photo: Malaysia Truly Asia facebook

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Fair 2013 is off to a good start with visitors streaming in to shop for the best holiday packages. More than 20,000 visitors thronged the fair at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) with both locals and foreigners looking for attractive deals.

Bank employee Zaman Ramli, 26, from Sungai Buloh, said he wanted to look for an affordable trip overseas for his honeymoon. “The prices are good and I may plan for the trip after the Hari Raya celebrations. It was lucky that I managed to get here early. The place is already so crowded,” he said, adding that this was his first visit to the fair.

An Iranian, who only wanted to be known as Mansour, 59, said he came with his family to check out the deals because they loved to travel. Among the popular booths were Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia with the crowds having to face long queues.

AirAsia Expedia general manager Darren Goh said the long line of people was due to its special offers, which were only available at the fair. “Customers can enjoy 20% off their flight tickets and up to an additional 10% over the 50% discount off the hotels we offer,” he said.

Earlier, Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen urged industry players to come up with special and innovative Visit Malaysia Year 2014 tour packages.

Tour operators and travel agencies, she said, could arrange tour packages in conjunction with events such as Magic of The Night, Contemporary Art Tourism, Fabulous Food, Cycling Tours and Parks and Gardens.

“This is my call for action to all of you in further adding value to VMY 2014,” she said in her speech, which was read out by ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Ong Hong Peng. Dr Ng said almost 35% of the over 1,100 exhibition booths at the fair had been taken up to promote domestic tourism.

At a press conference, MATTA Fair 2013 organising chairman Jeffri Sulaiman said it had also placed collection boxes at ticketing counters for the public to donate to the families of security personnel killed in the Lahad Datu standoff against gunmen.

He also recommended travellers purchase the travel insurance available from 11 MATTA panel insurance companies to safeguard themselves against any mishap.

Also present at the launch were MATTA president Datuk Mohd Khalid Harun and Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab.

A mobile phone application which helps visitors find their way around the fair can be downloaded for free at the App Store or Google Play. The fair, which will continue until tomorrow, offers travellers exciting travel and tour packages, hotel accommodation and airline tickets.

-thestar online.