Tourism Malaysia has launched Malaysia Year of Festivals (MYFest) 2015 with the theme ‘Endless Celebrations’ with much fan fare to showcase and celebrate the country’s bountiful and diverse cultures and festivities as a tourist attraction. With the Proboscis Monkey as the mascot, the MyFest 2015 campaign will continue to boost the tourism sector and ensure that the Malaysian tourism industry remains robust after the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 campaign.
Malaysia’s Honorable Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dato Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz is in Mumbai to raise awareness about the attractions of MYFest 2015 and addressed the media at Taj Mahal hotel, Mumbai. He is accompanied by the Malaysian Sales Mission delegation, officials from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture,State representatives and members of the travel trade fraternity. While the primary objective of the visitis to strengthen Malaysia’s standing as a dream travel destination and increase tourist arrivals from India, the honorable minister is also looking forward to driving strong support from both the Indian media, travel trade and airlines fraternity for the ongoing MYFest 2015.
“This magnificent country has always been an important market for Malaysia. It has consistently been one of the top 10 tourist generating markets to the country, and has continuously made significant contributions to our tourist arrivals and tourist receipts,” said Dato Seri Mohamed Abdul Aziz.Until October 2014, Malaysia has registered 6,43,335 Indian tourists, which is a 20.7%, increase for the same period last year (5,32,964).
With the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) predicting India to be the third fastest generator of travel and tourism demand from 2010 – 2019 with an annualised growth of 8.2%, promotions to the Indian tourists is high on the agenda said the visiting minister.
“In MyFEST 2015, the year-long calendar is packed with festivities of every genre; for instance cultural festivals, shopping extravanganzas, international acclaimed events, eco-tourism events, arts, music showcases, food promotion and other themed events. With 165 direct flights from various destinations in India per week, travel to Malaysia has become very convenient and the Malaysian delegation is expecting to welcome close to 800,000 Indian guests this year, ” informed Mr Manoharan Periasamy, Director General Tourism Malaysia.
During the Sales Mission in Mumbai, Tourism Malaysia will also organise a travel mart for the travel trade players to meet and network. This is a platform to showcase Malaysia’s diverse tourism offerings and highlight the scope for collaboration between travel agents in Malaysia and India.
The Sales Mission also aims to strengthen the presence of Malaysia in the South Asian market, and to keep India’s travel trade, media and corporate sector updated on the current issues and tourism development in Malaysia, especially during the MYFest campaign.
Malaysia’s tourism sector continued to be a significant contributor to the country’s economy in 2014. Tourist arrivals grew by 9.6% to 22.8 million compared to 20.8 million or the same period in 2013. MYFest 2015 is expected to see around 29.4 million tourists visiting the country and generating receipts up to RM89 billion.
Launch of Smart-I App was another highlight of the event. You can download the App for most amazing travel and tourism deals in Malaysia be it for shopping, sight-seeing, dining, entertainment. You can download on Google Play or App Store.
MAJOR RECOGNITIONS/ACCOLADES IN 2010 – 2015
1. Asia’s Best Golf Destination 2014’at the World Golf Awards 2014
2. Best Family Destination (2014) at the Lonely Planet Travel Awards 2014
3. No. 10 in Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2014
• The only Asian country to have made the list.
4. CNN’s World’s 100 best beaches (2013)– Perhentian Kecil island, Terengganu (No.13), Juara Beach in Tioman Island, Pahang (No.21), and TanjungRhu in Langkawi, Kedah (No.49) – compiled from various sources (travellers, colleagues, readers, on-site visits and research).
5. 1st Prize – UNWTO Ulysses Award 2012 – for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance for Malaysia Homestay Experience Programme
6. Kuala Lumpur – 4th – Best Shopping City in the World (2012 & 2013) through a surveydoneby global newsnetwork – CNN
7. 2nd Best Shopping Destination in Asia PacificbyGlobe Shopper Index – Oct 2012 – createdbythe Economist Intelligence Unit.
8. No. 1 – World’s Top Muslim-Friendly Holiday Destination
• A survey by Crescentrating – Singapore-based Muslim travel consultancy – released on 16 Jan 2013.
9. No. 4 – 2015 World’s Top Retirement Havensby Internationalliving.com – annual global retirement index 2015.
10. 10thWorld’sFriendliest Countries 2012byForbes Online, based on HSBC’sExpat Explorer Survey.
MALAYSIA TOURISM PROMOTION BOARD OR TOURISM MALAYSIA is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Malaysia. Tourism Malaysia focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia at all levels.
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