SPEECH BY

YBHG DATO' HAJI AZIZAN NOORDIN

DIRECTOR GENERAL, TOURISM MALAYSIA

AT THE TRAVEL TRADE DINNER & LAUNCHING OF MYFEST 2015

IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SALES MISSION TO INDIA

RIVER CRUISE, MILLENIUM RAJ JETTY, KOLKATA, INDIA

11 FEB 2015, WEDNESDAY, 7:30 PM

SALUTATIONS:

Distinguished members of the Kolkata travel trade fraternity,

Members of the media,

Ladies and gentlemen,

PLEASANTRIES

A very good evening and Namaste.

1. First of all, on behalf of Tourism Malaysia and members of my delegation, I would like to thank all of you for coming tonight to share our excitement as we launch our latest tourism campaign, the Malaysia Year of Festivals or MyFest 2105.

2. It aims to broaden the perception of Malaysia internationally, beyond the scenic beauty of the country to include attributes like our unique multicultural society and rich cultural heritage.

3. It also gives me great pleasure to be present here tonight amongst all of you, the stalwarts of the Kolkata travel and tourism industry as well as media, who have given us so much support in promoting Malaysia as a holiday destination here.

4. I am very happy to be here to personally give you an update of the situation in Malaysia as well as the latest development of our tourism industry. I look forward to getting your feedback on how we can forge closer relationship and enhance business opportunities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

IMPORTANCE OF INDIAN MARKET

5. Tonight, let us celebrate Malaysia’s strong and growing relationship with India. This magnificent country has always been an important market for Malaysia. It has consistently been one of the top 10 tourist generating markets to the country, and has continuously made significant contributions to our tourist arrivals and tourist receipts.

6. I believe that better air links has helped transform our tourism relationship. Over 643,000 Indian tourists visited Malaysia from January to October last year, representing a growth of 20.7% compared to the same period in the previous year. This is partly due to the increase of additional flights by Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air, Air Asia, and Air India Express to Malaysia, with a combined total of 159 direct flights to various destinations in India, which translate into 29,584 seats capacity per week.

7. This year, we intend to achieve the arrival target of 800,000 from the Indian market, a number that is ambitious but possible with the right marketing strategy and approach.

8. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), India will be the third fastest generator of travel and tourism demand from 2010 - 2019 with an annualised growth of 8.2%.

9. The WTTC also stated that India shall depict the fifth fastest growth in business travel from 2010 - 2019 at the annualized rate of 7.6%, only behind China (among large nations).

10.I assure you, Malaysia would definitely want a slice out of that growing Indian outbound tourism.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

MALAYSIA YEAR OF FESTIVALS (MYFEST) 2015 & OTHER ATTRACTIONS

11.This year is the Malaysia Year of Festivals (MyFest) 2015, which is a continuation from the VMY campaign last year. The campaign is designed to give tourists an amazing holiday experience, with an emphasis on the cultural aspect of the many different festivals celebrated by Malaysia’s multi-cultural society.

12.Themed “Endless Celebrations”, a total of 50 cultural events have been identified as the hallmark of our nation’s cultural celebrations and festivals, and we look forward to welcoming you and the rest of the world to join in on the festivities this year.

13.We have several new events line up to celebrate MyFest 2015. Among them are the Orang Asli and International Aborigines Art Festival, Malaysia International Mask Festival, Royal Floria Putrajaya, and E-Street Festival Putrajaya.

14.For MyFest 2015, we aim to have 29.4 million tourist arrivals and RM89 billion in tourist receipts, leading up to our ultimate goal of 36 million tourists and RM168 billion in tourist receipts by 2020. 15.To that end, I would like to invite all of you to work with each other and develop new tourism products and packages that will highlight our culture, and promote it as a tourist attraction to the rest of the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

16.To keep Malaysia special in the eyes of the Indian tourists, we continue to encourage our agents to create tailor-made tourism products and packages that cater to their preferences.

17.For example, we have developed and promoted tourism products that embrace the concept of luxury such as spa vacations, golfing holidays, Malaysia as a wedding and honeymoon destination, helicopter tours, and parks and gardens for the more affluent Indian tourists.

18.There are many award-winning international hotels and resorts throughout Malaysia that offer spa treatments and exceptional service. We are also set to witness the opening of many more world-class luxury hotels in the coming months such as the St. Regis, Harrods, Four Seasons Place KL, W Hotel, and The Regent.

19.Wedding and honeymoon is another growing segment that has captured the heart of many Indian couples who have chosen various exotic destinations in Malaysia to perform their weddings.

20.As for other favourite tourism activity, Kuala Lumpur was listed as the 4th Best Shopping City in the World by CNN for two consecutive years, while Globe Shopper Index ranked it the second best in Asia Pacific in 2012. We also have three major annual sale events throughout the year, which are the 1Malaysia Grand Prix sale, the 1Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival, and the 1Malaysia Year End Sale. In 2013, out of our total receipts of RM65.4 billion, tourist expenditure on shopping registered RM19.8 billion or 30.2% of total tourist expenditure. It was an increase of 6.3% against the previous year.

21.As one of the leading family destinations in the Southeast Asia region, I also suggest you visit two of our major theme parks, Legoland and Puteri Harbour Family Theme Parks, to experience world class family bonding activities. Other theme parks and children entertainment centres you can visit include Kidzania, i-City, Sunway Lagoon Theme Park, Lost World of Tambun, Genting Higlands Theme Park, and the upcoming Twentieth Century Fox World theme park that will be opening in 2016.

22.For sun, sand and beach, choices are aplenty too. If you don’t have enough time to explore, why not just follow CNN’s 2013 recommendations? Its 100 Best Beaches in the World has listed three from Malaysia. Ranked 13 was Perhentian Kecil Island in Terengganu; Juara Beach in Tioman Island was No. 21, while Tanjung Rhu in Langkawi was No. 49.

23.As business travel remains the main reason for Indians to travel overseas, Malaysia is offering its MICE services to the business travellers from the Indian market. For your information, Malaysia is becoming a popular destination for business tourism due to the availability of excellent venues, infrastructure, facilities and services.

24.We have an impeccable track record for hosting many of the world's largest and most prestigious international conventions with record attendances. Among them includes the Million Dollar Round Table 2014 attended by 5,000 delegates as well as the Women Deliver 3rd Global Conference 2013 with 4,500 delegates, and 7th International Aids Society (IAS) HIV Conference in Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention 2013 with 5,220 delegates.

CONCLUSION

25.Before I conclude, I would like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest gratitude to all of you for your support in our tourism promotional campaigns thus far.

26.It is my sincere hope that industry players especially in India can all work together with your Malaysian partners to make MyFest 2015 a success. We look forward to receiving your full support and assistance to ensure the success of all our future promotions and marketing efforts. Till then, let me conclude by thanking all of you, once again, for having accepted our invitation to be here.

Thank you.

ends