A ‘Discover Malaysia' campaign was launched in Vietnam on 27 June 2008 by the Hon. Dato' Dr. Ong Hong Peng, the Secretary General of the Ministry of tourism, Malaysia.

This campaign aims to publicize Malaysia as a top-of-mind destination to the Vietnamese tourists as well as to introduce new tourism products.

A micro-site (http://www.khamphamalaysia.com ) on ‘Discover Malaysia' will be uploaded on the internet from 20 July in order to disseminate the campaign information and other tourist destinations in Malaysia to online users. Other information available on the website include calendar of events, travel tips, send a greetings card, online tour booking and the latest news updates. The link will also be posted on Vnexpress, websites or blogs of the celebrities.

The ‘Discover Malaysia' campaign is also in partnership with the Vietnamese media, namely Thanh Nien Newspaper and its magazine as well as the Saigon Tiep Thi (a travel magazine with 145,000 readerships) to publish editorial writings of ten hottest tourist spots in Malaysia on a weekly basis. Readers will also get a chance to vote for the most popular destination via Short Message Service (SMS) or through online. They may stand a chance to win the attractive packaged tour prizes to Malaysia.

An extravaganza showcase of Malaysia's most exciting destinations will be featured for two weeks in July on the LCD monitors at the Diamond Plaza in Ho Chi Minh City. A photo corner decorated with the ten most popular destinations in Malaysia will also be set up for visitors to have a taste of the real Malaysia's experience. Besides that, a Malaysian food and cultural promotion will also be held at Windsor Plaza Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City from 10 to 15 July 2008.

Tourism performance

Malaysia recorded a total 120,000 Vietnamese tourists during the Visit Malaysia Year campaign in 2007. This represents an increase of 87.8% compared to 2006. For the first five months of 2008, Malaysia recorded a total of 45,450 tourist arrivals from Vietnam. Two Tourism Malaysia offices have been set up in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to assist travel trade members in developing packages to Malaysia.

There are a total of 48 flights per week servicing the Hanoi-Kuala and Ho Chi Minh-Kuala Lumpur routes from various airlines comprising Malaysia Airlines, Vietnam Airlines and AirAsia. Altogether, these airlines offer a total of 7,996 seats per week.

For more information about the ‘Discover Malaysia' campaign, please contact:
Tourism Malaysia (Ho Chi Minh City)
Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Huyen (e-mail: thanhuyen@tourism.gov.my  )
Marketing Manager

Address:
c/o Embassy of Malaysia
1208, Me Linh Point Tower
No. 2 Ngo Duc Ke Street
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: 008488299023, Fax: 008488299027
Email: mtpbhcm@hcm.vn.vn