PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA, 27 January 2018: Tourism Malaysia showed strong
presence at the 37th ASEAN Tourism Forum in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which was held from
22 to 26 January.
Led by the Minister of Tourism and Culture, YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri
Abdul Aziz, the Malaysian delegation comprised of 23 sellers from hotels and
resorts, tour agencies and state tourism boards. The Malaysian delegation also
included the Secretary General of Tourism and Culture, Datuk Rashidi Hasbullah,
and Director General of Tourism Malaysia, Datuk Seri MIrza Mohamed Taiyab.
This year’s ATF was attended by 240 buyers and 233 exhibitors with 323
booths, representing companies and properties from 10 ASEAN countries, as well
as 120 international media.
ASEAN TOURISM FORUM TRAVEL EXCHANGE (ATF TRAVEX)
One of the major programmes Malaysia participated in was the ATF TRAVEX,
a key platform for networking with international trade buyers and business
meetings which took place at the Chiang Mai International Convention Centre,
from 24 to 26 January 2018. It served as a dedicated platform for travel and
tourism suppliers in ASEAN to explore business opportunities with international
buyers and vice versa.
Malaysia made more than 1,000 appointments with international buyers
representing 51 countries. The platform was effective in raising awareness among
international delegates and media on the many new and exciting tourism
products, services and events in Malaysia.
Datuk Seri Mirza said buyers were interested in updates of new tourism
products, services and events in Malaysia, to expand their tour packages of
Malaysia. The international media also came to the Malaysia Pavilion to obtain
information on new products and events in Malaysia to promote them in their
home countries.
NATIONAL TOURISM ORGANISATION (NTO) MEDIA BRIEFING AND ASEAN GASTRONOMY
TOURISM
Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab delivered a presentation to the media
at the NTO Media Briefing on 25 January at the Meeting Room of the CMECC
Convention Centre. The 45-minute briefing was attended by some 50 international
media members.
He was also invited as a speaker to the ASEAN Gastronomy Conference that
was held on the same day in Shangri-la Hotel Chiang Mai. The conference
discussed the topic “The Future of FOOD: Turning ASEAN Tradition and
Craftsmanship into Sustainable Gastronomic Tourism.” The conference set the
stage for global speakers from the industry to share their best practices, for
ASEAN gastronomy gurus to share their culinary expertise, and to explore the
way forward to establish an ASEAN Gastronomy Federation and Network.
MALAYSIA NETWORKING LUNCHEON
YB Dato’ Seri Nazri also hosted a special luncheon for international
tourism trade buyers and media on 26 January at the Chiang Mai International
Convention Centre. He took the opportunity to launch the Visit Malaysia 2020 promotion
campaign and unveil the official logo.
He urged for the support of all industry counterparts for the campaign’s
success and said that Visit Malaysia 2020 would benefit all tourism
stakeholders in the region through collaborative cross-selling and re-marketing
of the region to tourists who visited Malaysia.
In addition, the Minister also presented awards to recognise the
outstanding contribution and commitment of ten organisations in the promotion
of Malaysia in Thailand. The organisations comprised seven travel agencies, a
tourism association and two media houses.
ASEAN TOURISM AWARDS 2018
The ASEAN Tourism Awards is a recognition of ASEAN’s best sustainable
rural or urban tourism products proposed and implemented by public and private
stakeholders who have decided to join forces for the benefit of their
destination.
On 26 January, 14 Malaysian organisations won in the following
categories:
ASEAN Green Hotel Standard:
- The Andaman A
Luxury Collection Resort, Langkawi, Kedah
- Nexus Resort
& Spa Karambunai, Sabah
- Riverside
Majestic Hotel, Sarawak
- The Palace Hotel
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
- Min House Camp,
Kelantan
ASEAN Clean Tourist City Standard
- Putrajaya
Corporation (Putrajaya)
- City Council of
Penang Island (George Town)
- Muar Municipal
Council (Muar)
ASEAN MICE Venue Standard
- Nexus Resort
& Spa Karambunai, Sabah
- Shangri-La Rasa
Sayang Resort & Spa, Penang
- Pullman Kuching,
Sarawak
- Sunway Putra
Hotel, KL
- Bukit Gambang
Resort City, Pahang
ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Standard
- Urban category:
KL Forest Eco Park by KL Tower (Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve), KL
- Rural category:
KOPEL Kinabatangan Wildlife Corridor Habitat Restoration Program, Sabah
OTHER EFFORTS TO PROMOTE MALAYSIA AT ATF 2018
During the ATF, the Minister attended various Bilateral Meetings of the
ASEAN NTOs and Tourism Ministers such as the 21st Meeting of the
ASEAN Tourism Ministers, 17th ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan
& Republic of Korea) Tourism Ministers Meeting, 6th Meeting of
ASEAN–India Tourism Minister and the ASEAN Tourism Conference. The Minister
also attended bilateral meetings with the Philippines, PATA, US-ASEAN Business
Council and Vietnam.
In brief, Malaysia’s participation in the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2018 in
Chiang Mai, Thailand, had been fruitful as it opened up various opportunities
with international travel agents.
-Tourism Malaysia.