KL Tan, vice president, inbound and domestic
at Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA), said: “Travel
agents and tour operators should capitalise on packages not only in Malaysia
but ASEAN, as the multiple-entry visa allows tourists from India to use
Malaysia as a hub to visit neighbouring countries. We hope to attract more
Indian tourists to Malaysia and ASEAN.”
Ganneesh Ramaa, manager, Luxury Tours
Malaysia, concurred: “Multiple-entry visa of 15 days is good enough for a genuine
tourist to visit multiple destinations in ASEAN using Malaysia as a hub. Both
Malindo Air and AirAsia offer attractive airfares.
“Without the multiple-entry visa, we lose out
to Bali as Indian tourists used Kuala Lumpur as a transit to continue their
journey onwards to Denpasar. (The new visa move) also makes Malaysia more
competitive with regional destinations. Indonesia and Thailand, for example
offers free visa on arrival,” he added.
At the same time, MATTA president Hamzah
Rahmat is urging state tourism offices nationwide to leverage the latest visa
initiative and promote their destinations. He said: “Not many Indian tourists
are familiar with destinations beyond the traditional such as Kuala Lumpur,
Langkawi, Penang and Resorts World Genting.”
On its part, MATTA will continue with its new
initiative of organising sales missions in South Asia, encompassing its
association members, hoteliers and local attraction operators. Tan said: “We
wish to introduce new destinations such as Perak, Negri Sembilan, Malacca,
Johor, Sabah and Sarawak to provide an opportunity for SME agencies to
participate in the Indian market.”
For
India, sales missions are planned for Bangaluru, Chennai and Kochi and in
August, and Kolkata, Hyderabad and Visakapatnam in November.
-TTG Asia.
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