Mumbai : Tourism Malaysia with co-operation from Malaysia Airlines organised a promotional programme called ‘Sales Mission to India’ in conjunction with South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE 2013) in January, 2013. The programme was spread across 4 cities namely Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi, and has been a huge success so far.

Business sessions (buyers & sellers meet) were being held in all 4 cities which made an excellent platform for the Indian travel agents to meet the Malaysian hoteliers & product owners, tour operators and tourism boards. Trade dinners were also being organised in each city for the local travel trade. Besides that, presentations by selected Malaysian industry players were held to introduce new and exciting products.

The Director of South Asia, West Asia & Africa Division, Mr. Zulkifly Md. Said, was leading the Malaysian Delegation consisting of 17 tour agents, 21 hotel operators, 6 product owners, 3 state governments and Tourism Malaysia officials, to promote Malaysia as a preferred tourist destination.

A cultural troupe from ‘Istana Budaya’ was also a part of this delegation. This troupe showcased Malaysia’s multi-cultural attractions such as traditional dances, batik painting, tea making (teh tarik) demonstration and local delicacies. Media interviews were organised to disseminate important tourism information to the market.

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 the period of 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).

Mr. Zulkifly Md. Said, commented, “We are here to provide support to our partners in the Tourism Malaysia offices in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi. We look forward to working even more closely with our partners here to increase arrivals from India to Malaysia this year and in coming years. For 2013, we are targeting 780,000 tourists from India to Malaysia while our overall tourism targets are to achieve 36 million tourist arrivals and RM168 billion (approx. USD55 billion) in tourist receipts by the year 2020.”

This promotional effort was expected to increase the numbers significantly, through heralding a greater awareness of Malaysia as an ideal holiday destination, as well as fostering greater co-operation between tour operators and members of the tourism fraternity.

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 USD 0.6 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, by the year 2020, for which all promotional efforts are now geared towards.

Awards – Recently, Malaysia received an award by CNN for being the 4th Best Shopping Destination in the world behind New York, London and Tokyo.

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

Malaysia Airlines received the Skytrax:

i.                The World’s 5-star Airline Award

ii.         World’s Best Cabin Staff 2012

iii.        Best Airline Signature Dish 2012