Putrajaya, 18 May 2012 - A total of 72 travel agents and media from 14 European countries are participating in the very first EUROMEET 2012 at Istana Hotel Kuala Lumpur starting from today until 24 May.

Organised by Tourism Malaysia, EUROMEET 2012 aims to reinforce tourism promotions of Malaysia to the European market as well as build stronger ties with foreign travel trade partners through seminars, visits to new products, destination trips and networking sessions with local industry players. Participants will also witness Colours of 1Malaysia (Citrawarna 1Malaysia 2012) at Dataran Merdeka on 19 May.

"It is hoped that the programme will encourage and intensify the interests of the outbound tour operators in Europe to package and sell Malaysia more prominently," said Tourism Malaysia's Acting Director General, Dato' Azizan Hj. Noordin.

"The event is in line with the Government's effort to position Malaysia as a luxury tourist and business destination," he added.

The participants are 63 outbound travel agents and 9 media representatives from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.

Some of the key topics and activities during EUROMEET 2012 include:

i) A presentation on niche tourism products of Malaysia, such as golf, spa, weddings and honeymoon, bicycle, shopping and helicopter tours.
ii) A travel mart to facilitate meetings between 60 Malaysian sellers and EUROMEET 2012 buyers to discuss the latest tourism products and the development of tour packages. Sellers comprise six state tourism authorities, inbound tour operators, hotels and airlines.
iii) Tours to designated destinations in Malaysia such as Melaka, Perak, Terengganu, Sarawak and Sabah.

Among the supporting organisations for EUROMEET 2012 are Malaysia Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Melaka State Tourism, Perak Tourism Management Berhad, Sabah Tourism Board, Sarawak Tourism Board, Terengganu Tourism, Belum Rainforest Resort, Equatorial Hotel Melaka, Grand Margherita Hotel, Hatten Hotel Melaka, Istana Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Tanjong Jara Resort, Borneo Eco Tours and World Express Tours Sdn Bhd.

With the cooperation from travel industry members Tourism Malaysia hopes to make EUROMEET an annual promotional activity, complementing the other promotional efforts.

Tourist arrivals from Europe registered a marginal 1.2 percent drop to 1,108,668 in 2011 from 1,122,170 in 2010. The prolonged economic crisis in the region is cited as one of the major factors in the decline of arrivals.

For more media releases, media info and media features on Malaysia's tourism industry, kindly visit the Media Centre of Tourism Malaysia's website at http://www.tourismmalaysia.gov.my/

Issued by: Communications & Publicity Division, Tourism Malaysia
For more information, kindly contact Anis Ramli at 03-8891 8000
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