Tourism Malaysia has launched Malaysia Year of Festivals (MYFest) 2015 with the theme ‘Endless Celebrations’ 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. This year promises abundance of excitement with a long line up of cultural themed events, family fun events, shopping festivals and lots more in Malaysia.
As part of its efforts to raise awareness on the celebration of MYFest 2015 in India, Tourism Malaysia has embarked on a Sales Mission from February 9 until February 17. Tourism Malaysia’s Deputy Director General (Planning) Azizan Noordin is leading the delegation to New Delhi. He is accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, State representatives and members of the travel trade fraternity. While the primary objective of the Sales Mission is to strengthen Malaysia’s standing as a dream travel destination and increase tourist arrivals from India, Azizan Noordin is also looking forward to driving strong support from both the Indian media, travel trade and airlines fraternity for the ongoing MYFest 2015.
“India has always been an important market for us; the sixth top tourist generating market to the country. And the numbers continue to be encouraging. Until October 2014, we have registered 6,43,335 Indian tourists, which is a 20.7%, increase for the same period last year (5,32,964). This year we are expecting to welcome to 800,000 Indian guests,” said Azizan.
“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, coming to Malaysia has become very convenient and we are hopeful of our Indian guests staying longer in order to enjoy the festival offerings nationwide”, added Azizan.
During the Sales Mission in New Delhi, 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.
