PETALING JAYA: Tourism Malaysia is intensifying its promotional strategies towards Indian travellers through several expos, including the recent Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) held in Mumbai from Feb 8 to 10, and the South Asia Travel & Tourism Exchange in New Delhi, which kicked off on Monday and will last until Feb 22.
In addition to its participation at OTM, Tourism Malaysia also conducted a food and culture promotional event in Mumbai, which took place from Feb 5 to 11. Building on the success of this event, Tourism Malaysia is now orchestrating a sales mission across five main cities in India. The mission, which began on Monday and lasts until Feb 22, covers Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and New Delhi.
The mission is led by Razaidi Abdul Rahim, director, Tourism Malaysia, Chennai; Noriah Jaafar, director, Tourism Malaysia, Mumbai; and Akmal Aziz, deputy director, Tourism Malaysia, New Delhi. Also in the mission are 45 organisations, comprising two state tourism bodies, three airlines, 14 hotel and resort operators, 19 travel agents, six product owners and the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Tourism Malaysia said in a statement.
The business-to-business event brings together Malaysian sellers of tourism products and services to interact with their Indian counterparts to strengthen networking and cultivate business opportunities with the important market. Apart from business-matching sessions, there will be seminars and product presentations focusing on leisure and niche tourism markets such as meeting and incentives groups, weddings, golfing and family fun activities.
The sales mission is expected to gather more than 500 travel agents and tour operators from the respective cities.
India is a significant priority market for Malaysia, with strong economic ties and cultural connections. India is Malaysia’s fifth largest source of tourists. Malaysia recorded 17.8 million tourist arrivals between January and November 2023 with 587,703 from India. In terms of air accessibility, 181 flights with 33,851 seats are offered weekly between India and Malaysia through Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air, AirAsia and IndiGo.
This mission is also to promote the recently lifted entry visa to Malaysia with visa-free entry for citizens of India for stays of up to 30 days beginning Dec 1, 2023 until Dec 31, 2024. Additionally, it serves as a platform to promote Visit Malaysia 2026 through publicity coverage throughout the programme.
