LANGKAWI: Quality food, outdoor recreational activities, shopping and evening entertainment are what Singaporeans look for when they visit Malaysia.
Tourism Malaysia marketing executive Fiona Estrop pointed out that given such desires, Malaysian tourist destinations would do well to attract Singaporeans if they can offer such indulgences.
Estrop, who handles the Singapore outbound market for Tourism Malaysia, said lately Singaporeans have also acquired a penchant for adventure tourism and Kelantan and Terengganu have become the focal points of their escapades.
“Besides the gastronomic delights in the east coast states, there are also the beaches and tranquil lifestyle, but it is a challenge to find evening activities,” she said.
Estrop is leading a group of Singaporean travel agents to explore Langkawi on the invitation of the Kedah chapters of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) and the Malaysian Association of Travel and Tour Agents (Matta).
Given that the country will be ushering in the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign soon, planners should also work to boost connectivity with Singapore to woo tourists from the island republic, she said.
For Langkawi, Estrop said the island resort could attract more Singaporeans if costs were lower. “The cost-conscious Singaporean tourists prefer Thailand because they offer value-for-money packages,” she said.
Data from the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry showed that tourists from Singapore spend the most in Malaysia, followed by those from China, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, India, South Korea, Britain, Taiwan and Japan respectively. Last year they spent RM27.26 billion while in the country.
Kedah Matta chairman Mohd Yusin Mohd Yatim urged travel agents to embrace innovation to attract more tourists.
“The private sector must take the lead, not the government,” he said.
