Tourism Malaysia On Sales Mission To Woo More Indian Tourists

PUTRAJAYA, 9 JANUARY 2013: Tourism Malaysia, with cooperation from Malaysia Airlines, is organising a promotional Sales Mission to India in conjunction with the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE 2013) from 7 – 18 January 2013. The programme covers four cities namely Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi. In New Delhi, the SATTE 2013 will be held from 16 – 18 January 2013.

The Director of International Promotions for South Asia/West Asia/Africa Division, Mr. Zulkifly Md. Said is 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 is also accompanied by a 10-man cultural troupe from Istana Budaya to showcase Malaysia’s multi-cultural attractions such as traditional dances, batik painting, tea making demonstration and local delicacies. Other programmes scheduled throughout the duration of the sales mission are media interviews, business-to-business sessions, networking dinners and tourism product presentations.

India is a top ten market for Malaysia, with a total of 690,849 tourists recorded in 2010. In 2011, the number of tourists increased to 693,056.   In 2012, from January to September, a total of 514,926 tourists from India have been recorded, showing a 2.6% growth compared to the same period last year (501,828).

This promotional effort is expected to increase the number of India tourists to Malaysia significantly, through promoting a greater awareness of Malaysia as an ideal holiday destination, as well as fostering greater cooperation between tour operators and members of the tourism fraternity. It is also a timely effort to create awareness for the “Visit Malaysia Year 2014.”

Some interesting figures regarding Malaysia’s tourism sector:

24.7 million - The number of tourists who visited Malaysia in 2011. Malaysia has been the 9th most-visited country in the world for three consecutive years (2009 – 2011) according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

USD19 billion - Malaysia’s tourism receipts in 2011, which is an increase of USD0.6 billion against the previous year. Tourism sector currently stands as the third largest foreign exchange earner for the country.

36 million and USD52.8 billion - Malaysia’s targets for tourist arrivals and tourist receipts, respectively, for the year 2020, for which all promotional efforts are now geared towards.

Awards - Recently, in a survey by global news network CNN, Malaysia was named the 4th Best Shopping Destination in the World after New York, London, Tokyo.

Malaysia also received the prestigious UNWTO ULYSSES AWARD 2012 for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance, for its innovative Malaysia Homestay Experience Programme.

Malaysia Airlines received the Skytrax Awards for:
i. The World’s 5-star Airline Award 2012
ii. World’s Best Cabin Staff 2012
iii. Best Airline Signature Dish 2012

-Tourism Malaysia.