Tourism Malaysia Director General Leads New Zealand Travel Trade Mission
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Malaysia is back in New Zealand as it prepares for Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM 2020), a landmark campaign that’s targeted to bring in 30 million international tourists and approximately NZD$35.5 billion (RM100 billion) in tourist receipts. The Director General of Tourism Malaysia, Datuk Musa Yusof, is leading a travel trade mission to Auckland on 11 April to reinforce the message that Malaysia is an important holiday destination for New Zealand travellers. The delegation consists of 10 organisations including one state tourism board, one tourism agency, one travel agent, one airline, 4 hotels and resorts, and 2 product owners. Major players and sponsors are Terengganu Tourism, Desaru Coast, Legoland, Malindo Air and Malaysia Airlines.
Datuk Musa says, “Malaysia has long-standing ties with New Zealand that extends to the Peace Corps, education and cultural exchanges as well as presenting an attractive holiday proposition to New Zealanders.”
He adds, “New Zealand, like Malaysia, is a multi-ethnic and diverse population living in relative peace and harmony. We hope that this mutual connection will serve as a basis to strengthen our tourism relations with each other.”
He also noted that Malaysia’s blend of “culture, cuisine and nature” appeals strongly to New Zealanders’ innate sense of adventure which is made accessible by language, customs and some familiar aspects of Malay culture.
Malaysia offers a multi-faceted holiday that takes visitors from the shopping heavens of one of the world’s most modern cities that is Kuala Lumpur, to the farthest reaches of Borneo’s native jungles with its abundance of unique flora and fauna, to pristine waters where they can explore a magical underwater world or secluded island. Malaysia also presents an exceptional value-for-money proposition where the Kiwi dollar goes a long way in value and, in doing so, offers the opportunity to elevate both the standard and length of stay of their Malaysian holiday.
Datuk Musa adds, “Our main focus is to strengthen our economy and develop better policies to attract good investments for the nation to prosper. I encourage you to consider Malaysia as your ideal partner for your tourism growth and business expansion and look forward to seeing more tourism investments and partnerships in Malaysia.”
New Zealand is an important tourist source market for Malaysia. In 2018, a total of 50,698 New Zealanders visited Malaysia, which contributed to the overall 25.8 million international tourist arrivals to Malaysia. Malaysia aims to bring in 60,000 New Zealanders to Malaysia next year. There are currently 7 flights/week offering 2,009 seats from New Zealand to Malaysia.
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