Malaysia takes to Weibo to court Chinese travellers

The Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) and social media network Weibo are collaborating on a campaign to help meet Malaysia’s arrival targets this year.

As part of the campaign, a one-day Merdeka (Independence) Sales Day promotion is being planned for deployment on Weibo to coincide with Malaysia's 59th independence day on August 31.

“(There will be) a landing page on Weibo (featuring destination Malaysia) and Malaysian tourism product offerings that play on the number 59,” said Mint Leong, secretary-general, MITA.

In addition, key influencers on Weibo will share travel tips and destination stories on Malaysia. Contests and giveaways are also being planned.

Yesterday, over 200 tourism industry players from Peninsular Malaysia were briefed on the campaign at an event organised by MITA and given insights as to how Weibo can be used as a marketing tool.

A similar briefing will be conducted in Kuching for those in East Malaysia.

“We are trying to get everybody involved in this campaign, from tour operators and hoteliers to retail outlets and attractions,” said Uzaidi Udanis, vice president of MITA. 

“China has a huge outbound market and Chinese travellers spend an average of 908 ringgit (US$228) a day. Through Weibo, we hope to reach out to the Chinese digitally.”

-TTG Asia.
http://mitamalaysia.com/