Matta inks partnership with Firefly to promote travel between Sabah and Penang

 

Standing (from second left to right) Penang State Exco for Tourism and Creative Economy (Petace) Yeoh Soon Hin; Matta president Datuk Tan Kok Liang and Sabah Assistant Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai witnessing the signing of partnership deal between (seated from left) Penang Matta chairman Vergis Matthews, Firefly chief executive officer Philip Se and Sabah Matta chairman Lawrence Chin at the Setia Spice Convention Centre here following the launch of the Penang Matta Fair. Photo courtesy of Sabah Tourism Board. - NSTP/ PAUL MU

KOTA KINABALU: A partnership has been signed between the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) and Firefly to promote travel between Sabah and Penang.

The collaboration was signed between Sabah Matta chapter chairman Lawrence Chin; Penang Matta chapter chairman Vergis Mathews; and FireFly chief executive officer Philip See.

Sabah Assistant Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai; Penang Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin; and Matta president Datuk Tan Kok Liang were also present to witness the signing at the Setia Spice Convention Centre in Penang following the launch of the Penang Matta Fair today.

Part of the collaboration was to jointly market tour packages from both Penang and Sabah, as well as the Penang-Kota Kinabalu direct flight sector offered by Firefly.

Joniston, who is chairman of the Sabah Tourism Board, praised the initiative, saying such a collaboration would bring people closer and deepen ties between Sabah and Penang.

"We need to collaborate on whatever is good for Penang, Sabah, and the Malaysian economy.

"This effort can serve as a good example of how both states can cooperate despite political differences to boost their respective economy via tourism."

He also urged for industry players to look into the possibility of having direct flights between Penang and Sandakan, which is a gateway to nature and wildlife tourism, as well as Tawau, a hub for scuba diving.

Joniston said Sabah and Penang have airports with a high volume of air passenger traffic and both states stood to gain from attracting visitors from each other.

Meanwhile, Yeoh said: "Both Penang and Sabah have their own unique offerings and we have to complement each other.

"We are well aware of Sabah's popularity as an ecotourism destination. We hope to get tourists in Sabah to come to Penang for a different tourism experience. We should not be competing but rather helping one another."

Tan said Matta is committed to facilitating and promoting travel trade, and it hopes to generate RM20 million in sales during the two-day Penang Matta Fair which began today.

The Penang Matta Fair features 158 booths, with 40 per cent of participants promoting domestic tourism.

-nst online.