WELCOME REMARKS BY

EN. HARUN PILUS

DIRECTOR OF TOURISM MALAYSIA PENANG

MALAYSIA MEGA FAM PROGRAMME

WELCOME LUNCHEON

IN CONJUNCTION WITH

PENANG WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015

THE ROYALE BINTANG PENANG

11 APRIL 2015, SATURDAY, 12.30PM

Mega Fam invitees,

Distinguished guests,

Members of the media,

Ladies and gentlemen.

1. Good afternoon. I’m pleased to bid each and every one of you a warm welcome or Selamat Datang to Malaysia. I would like to thank all of you for accepting our invitation to participate in this Mega Fam programme, held in conjunction with the Penang World Music Festival 2015.

2. I believe in these two days you’ll have a great time enjoying musical performances from various countries around the world, including Malaysia, Egypt, Mongolia, Germany, India, South Africa, and Spain.

3. We are pleased to have you here in George Town, Penang, which is one of Malaysia’s very own UNESCO World Heritage Sites. If you love good food, this is definitely the place to be. Even Lonely Planet ranked it as the Number One culinary hotspot in the world for 2014.

Ladies and gentlemen,

4. Every year, Tourism Malaysia brings in international media and tour agents to Malaysia under our Mega Fam Programme to give them a first-hand experience of the various sights and sounds here.

5. Our intention is simple. We hope the media will be motivated to write interesting articles on Malaysia, while the tour agents will have better ideas on what and how to package Malaysia, thus creating more exciting and creative tour packages to the country.

6. The Mega Fam programme has helped us create higher awareness of Malaysia internationally, promoting the country as a value-for-money and top-of-mind tourist destination.

7. For this event, we are pleased to bring in 17 Mega Fam participants comprising journalists, TV crews and travel agents from 5 countries.

8. I believe you will have an enjoyable time in Penang and also in other parts of the country during your post tour.

Ladies and gentlemen,

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

10. It 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 multicultural society. Therefore, the country will be in ‘Endless Celebrations’ this year, which is also the theme of this milestone event.

11. If this is your first trip to Malaysia, I strongly encourage you to return after this music festival 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.

12. Whatever your interest, I can assure you that we have it all. Our attractions range from rich and colourful multi-cultural heritage to marvellous natural wonders, as well as luxury experiences like spa and wellness, golfing, and duty-free shopping.

Ladies and gentlemen,

13. Malaysia has received various international recognitions and accolades in recent years, which speak volumes for its 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 recognitions 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. Before you proceed for lunch, we would like to share with you our multiple award-winning video, Malaysia Truly Asia – The Essence of Asia, and the Malaysia Year of Festivals 2015 Theme Song.

15. I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of the programme for today, especially the Penang World Music Festival 2015 later.

16. With that, I wish all of you an enjoyable and memorable stay in Malaysia.

Thank you.