WELCOME ADDRESS

BY YB DATO’ SERI MOHAMED NAZRI BIN TAN SRI ABDULAZIZ

MINISTER OF TOURISM & CULTURE MALAYSIA

FAREWELL DINNER FOR

MALAYSIA MEGAMEET 2015

PERDANA BOTANICAL GARDEN, LAKE GARDEN

31 MARCH 2015, TUESDAY, 7PM

Y.BHG. DATUK SERI HAJI AHMAD PHESAL HAJI MOHD TALIB

Mayor of Kuala Lumpur

Y.BHG. DATO’ MIRZA MOHAMMAD TAIYAB

Director General of Tourism Malaysia

Participants of MALAYSIA MEGAMEET 2015,

Ladies and gentlemen.

1. Good evening. On behalf of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, I would like to thank all of you for your presence at this dinner, which marks the closing of the first MALAYSIA MEGAMEET.

2. My appreciation goes to each and every one of you for your kind support to this programmme, held in conjunction with the Malaysia Year of Festivals or MyFest 2015. This is a part of our efforts to make Malaysia a top-of-mind destination for travellers from every region – Americas, Europe, Oceania, ASEAN, North and East Asia, West Asia and Africa.

3. Through the seminar yesterday, I believe you have received updates on our tourism developments and upcoming attractions. Most importantly, I hope the travel mart has been successful and will lead to the establishment of many business opportunities and cooperation between the participants and the Malaysian tourism industry players.

4. This is the aim of this MEGAMEET. We want to showcase our diverse cultures and fascinating tourist attractions and we also want to provide a platform for all of you to meet and network with your counterparts in Malaysia.

5. Therefore, I look forward to the outcome of this programme. I can’t wait to read the interesting articles that the media will produce and the creative packages that the tour operators will create to encourage your readers and clients to spend their next holidays in Malaysia.

6. Your support and assistance are highly appreciated and I thank all of you for your participation in this programme and making it a success.

Ladies and gentlemen,

7. Your trip to Malaysia is filled with tours, product updates, a travel seminar and a travel mart. All these activities are aimed at exposing you to different sides of Malaysia and gain insight into various aspects of Malaysia that are of interest to your market.

8. I hope you’ve enjoyed all the programmes that we’ve arranged for you so far. For the next three days, you’ll be exploring other destinations in the country. Whether you have chosen to visit the World Heritage Sites of Mulu National Park, George Town or Melaka; or the million-year-old rainforest of Belum; I’m sure you’ll have a great time as every destination offers something unique to visitors.

9. This is the reason I strongly encourage you to come back to Malaysia again after this programme, as there are many more beautiful places in the country for you to explore and experience.

Ladies and gentlemen,

10. This is an important year for Malaysia. Like I’ve mentioned, 2015 is the Malaysia Year of Festivals. It is a continuation of last year’s successful Visit Malaysia Year. We have identified 50 key events for this special celebration. Hence, there is definitely something for everyone.

11. Last year’s campaign had successfully boosted our arrivals and receipts with a growth of 6.7 and 10 percent respectively to 27.4 million tourists and RM72 billion (USD19 billion) in receipts, despite various challenges. This year, our target is 29.4 million tourist arrivals with RM89 billion (USD24 billion) in receipts.

12. With your support and assistance, I am confident that we will be able to achieve this target. I believe there is a need to develop more interesting and more personalised product packages to meet the increasingly experienced, demanding and sophisticated tourists.

13. Therefore, I hope that the international tour operators present here today will take the lead in developing unique and attractive Malaysia Year of Festivals 2015 tour packages and promotions.

14. In conclusion, I would like to thank all of you once again for playing a positive role in stimulating travel to Malaysia by participating in this programme. Please feel free to give us your feedback regarding your trip here and let us know how we can improve this programme further.

15. We also have offices in your respective countries to provide the necessary assistance on matters related to the promotion of Malaysia as a tourist destination.

16. Till then, I wish you a pleasant stay in Malaysia and I hope you will continue this good work of making Malaysia a top-of-mind holiday destination for your families, friends, readers, and clients.

Thank you.