WELCOME SPEECH BY

Y.BHG. DATO’ HJ. AZIZAN NOORDIN

DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL (PROMOTION)

TOURISM MALAYSIA

COCKTAIL RECEPTION

VINTAGE/CLASSIC CAR RALLY –

DESTINATION FASCINATING MALAYSIA 2015

PULLMAN PUTRAJAYA LAKESIDE, PUTRAJAYA

17 MARCH 2015, TUESDAY, 7.30PM

MR. STEPHAAN SCHUTTE & MR. JEAN VAN DER ELST

Organiser of Vintage/Classic Car Rally – Destination Fascinating Malaysia

Distinguished Participants,

Members of the media,

Ladies and gentlemen.

1. Good evening. I’m pleased to welcome all of you to Malaysia for this Vintage/Classic Car Rally. First of all, my deepest appreciation goes to both Mr. Stephaan Schutte and Mr. Jean Van Der Elst for initiating and organising this prestigious event in Malaysia.

2. Congratulations to both of them for successfully bringing in 26 vintage and classic cars and 52 participants from Belgium, the Netherlands and France to Malaysia. A very warm welcome also to the participants from Singapore and Malaysia.

3. This is definitely no easy feat. I understand that they have been promoting this event since early last year. It took them months of planning, running around, and overcoming various challenges to make this a reality. For all their hard work and determination, ladies and gentlemen, let’s give them both a big round of applause.

4. Tourism Malaysia is pleased to lend our support to this event as it offers participants an exciting way to explore Malaysia and our well-connected highways, multicultural attractions, and diverse tourism offerings. Indeed, vintage car rally like this has great potential as a relatively new and exciting niche tourism product.

5. Besides, it also goes in line with the Malaysian Government’s efforts to attract high yield travellers and promote the country as a destination for affordable luxury.

Ladies and gentlemen,

6. I’m sure all of you just can’t wait to start your journey tomorrow. For the next 13 days, you’ll be driving around and exploring Peninsular Malaysia. From here at Putrajaya, which is our Federal Administrative Capital, you’ll be heading to the southern state of Johor, followed by the east coast, then to the northern state of Penang, before reaching Kuala Lumpur, in time for the 17th Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix.

7. I’m pleased that you’ll get to experience a little bit of everything that the country has to offer. For instance, you’ll be driving your classic cars across one of the world’s oldest rainforest, to a popular hill resort, to the largest man-made lake in South East Asia, inside private plantations, and to the World Heritage Sites of Melaka and George Town.

8. I hope you’ll have an enjoyable and memorable experience throughout your journey these few days. Most importantly, I hope you’ll get to enjoy our many interesting sights and sounds, visit some of our attractions and try our local cuisines.

Ladies and gentlemen,

9. Following our celebration of the successful Visit Malaysia Year 2014, we are currently embarking on another major tourism campaign – the Malaysia Year of Festivals, or MyFEST.

10. We aim to give tourists an amazing holiday experience with an emphasis on the cultural aspect of the various festivals celebrated by Malaysia’s multi-cultural society. The country will be in ‘Endless Celebrations’ this year, which is also the theme of this milestone event.

11. The F1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix that you’ll attending on the 29th is one of our major events for MyFest. This month, we also have the 1Malaysia GP Sale. Don’t worry, for those of you who want to grab some attractive deals, I believe you’ll have a shopping trip in your itinerary.

12. If this is your first time to Malaysia, I strongly encourage you to return after this rally to spend a long holiday here with your family and friends. There are so much more to explore and experience in different parts of the country. Whatever your interest, I can assure you that we have it all.

13. The various international recognitions and accolades that we received in recent years speak volumes for our thriving tourism industry. We’ve been crowned as Asia’s Best Golf Destination, Best Family Destination, and the fourth Best Shopping City in the World. We were also in the Top 10 of Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2014, and recently, we have been listed as the world’s fourth top retirement haven for 2015. All these merely serve as encouragement for us to work harder to promote our tourism industry and to make sure our visitors will return again and again.

14. With that, I hope all of you will have an enjoyable and memorable stay in Malaysia, and I wish you all a safe and exciting journey.

Thank you.