Bigger Malaysia Presence At SATTE 2019 To Promote Tourism
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On 16th to 18th January 2019, Malaysia continues its efforts to attract more Indian tourists with Tourism Malaysia’s 15th year of participation in South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE 2019) which took place in New Delhi, India.
This year, with 16 tour agents, 14 hotel operators, 4 product owners, 3 airline operators, state tourism boards and officials from Tourism Malaysia, YB Tuan Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture is leading a bigger delegation than last year which Malaysia participated with only 23 tourism industry players.
Malaysia’s presence at SATTE is a promotional effort to increase the number of Indian tourists to Malaysia significantly, through promoting a greater awareness of Malaysia as an ideal holiday destination, as well as fostering greater cooperation between tour operators and members of the tourism fraternity. Visitors to SATTE will be able to meet Malaysian sellers such as Genting Malaysia Berhad, Desaru Coast Malaysia, Sunway Hotels & Theme Park, Legoland Malaysia Resort, Tourism Melaka and Tourism Selangor.
YB Tuan Muhammad Bakhtiar said, “Malaysia is a value-for-money destination with many attractions to appeal to all segments of the Indian market.”
“Along with ongoing efforts for better visa facilitation and various marketing and promotion activities lined up, we look forward to welcoming more Indian tourists to Malaysia,” he adds.
Tourism partners such as Genting Malaysia Berhad, Desaru Coast Malaysia, Sunway Hotels & Theme Park, Legoland Malaysia Resort are taking part under the Tourism Malaysia pavilion with irresistible holiday offers. Meanwhile, state tourism boards Tourism Melaka and Tourism Selangor are utilising the platform to introduce their latest tourism products.
Tourism Melaka is showcasing A’ Famosa, an integrated resort, theme park, shopping and golf attraction, as well as Encore Melaka, an immersive theatrical performance that re-tells Melaka’s history, staged at the new waterfront tourism hub, Impression City.
Tourism Selangor is promoting its new attraction, Sky Mirror, described as a mystery island that emerges at selected times of the month due to the movement of the tides. Other Selangor attractions being highlighted are its royal heritage tours, cave attractions at Batu Caves and Dark Cave, and Mitsui Outlet Park shopping mall.
YB Tuan Muhammad Bakhtiar will also have meetings with major travel agents and wedding planners to pitch Malaysia as a wedding and honeymoon destination. He will also be meeting airlines representatives to explore areas of collaboration in increasing connectivity to Malaysia.
India is the sixth top tourist generating market for Malaysia with a total of 552,739 Indian visitors recorded in 2017. From January to October 2018, Malaysia received a total of 495,620 Indian tourists, facilitated by the ease of electronic visa services. The figure showed a 10.2% growth over the same period in 2017. Consistent promotional efforts in the market and air accessibility via 222 weekly flights providing 39,460 seats to Malaysia contributed to this growth. Malaysia hopes to achieve 646,000 arrivals from the India market in 2020.
Since it was first organised in 1994, this year is the 26th year of SATTE and it is regarded as one of the largest travel trade exhibitions in the South Asia region, attracting hundreds of trade visitors from all over the world. The three-day programme, held at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, Delhi NCR, will be an opportunity for buyers and sellers to network with each other and develop new tourism products and packages.
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