Destination set for biggest attendance

Malaysia by Linsey McNeill

Destination set for biggest attendance

Country to promote Sabah, Sarawak and east coast

MALAYSIA will have its biggest ever presence at World Travel Market, where it will be focusing on promoting the increasingly popular states of Sabah and Sarawak as well as its less well known east coast resorts.

Seventy members from Malaysia’s travel industry will join Tourism Malaysia on its stand.

First-time participants include the new Hornbill Golf and Jungle Club which opened in Sarawak earlier this year, the Penang Cultural Centre, the Eastern and Oriental Hotel – due to reopen next year following a refurbishment – the Mingcourt Vista Hotel and Cyberview Lodge Resort.

Also attending WTM will be a number of senior delegates from Tourism Malaysia’s head office in Kuala Lumpur, including director-general Abdullah Jonid and international marketing director Cindy Lim.

Tourism Malaysia’s stand will be its largest yet, signifying the growing importance of the UK market.

Tourism Malaysia will also continue promoting its marketing campaign, ‘Malaysia – Truly Asia’, launched at last year’s WTM.

The tourist board said the campaign was proving particularly successful with the UK market.

Latest UK arrival figures to Malaysia for the first eight months of this year reached 190,000, which was an increase of 50,000 on last year’s total. Tourism Malaysia hopes the figure will reach 225,000 by the end of the year.

Success rate: over 70 members from Malaysia’s travel industry will be at this year’s WTM

Giveaways

Travel awards

Tourism Malaysia, in association with Travel Weekly, will be holding its fourth annual travel awards on the evening of Monday November 13 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel,London. This year the awards have been expanded to cover eight different categories. For the first time, cash prizes will reward travel agents for theirsupport of Malaysia. A new award for the best incentiveprogramme has also been introduced. Tourism Malaysia UK and Ireland director Yazid Mohamed said: “We areconjuring up the exotic ambience of a pasar malam (a Malaysian night market) and the hotel’s Westbourne Suite will be excitingly transformed to reflect this.”