PUTRAJAYA, 21 October 2013 – For five days, a group of South Korean travel agents will forego their national dish, kimchi for sambal belacan and immerse themselves in all things Malaysian.

Here for the Make It Malaysia Programme organised by Tourism Malaysia, the 20 travel agents mainly from Seoul and Busan will visit tourist spots in Pulau Langkawi, taste the local food and learn about the myths and legends of the legendary island. It’s all part of Tourism Malaysia’s effort to promote Malaysia, especially Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014, and encourage Korean travel agents to diversify tourism packages to Malaysia by combining several new attractions to the already popular ones.

Combining product updates on tourist attractions, formal briefings and presentations on Malaysia’s tourism industry as well as a travel mart session, Make It Malaysia is an intensive programme to position Malaysia as a top-of-mind tourist destination for the East Asian countries.

The main highlight of Make It Malaysia will take place on 23 October in Langkawi, where the Chief Executive Officer of Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), Tan Sri Khalid Ramli, is scheduled to officially open the event and travel mart.

A total of 16 Malaysian sellers comprising state tourism authorities, inbound tour operators, hotels and airlines will be participating in the travel mart and meeting the Korean buyers to discuss and develop attractive tour packages to Malaysia.

Among those who will lend their support to this programme are the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), Air Asia X, Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort & Spa, Seri Chenang Resort & Spa and the Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa.

The event concludes with a welcome dinner by Tourism Malaysia at the Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort & Spa, Langkawi.

Participants of the Make It Malaysia Programme will have the opportunity to visit several of Langkawi’s beautiful islands, the Laman Padi, the Langkawi Cable Car, a sunset dinner cruise and hotel inspection tours.

Langkawi was chosen to be the main destination for this round of Make It Malaysia because of its diverse tourist attractions – nature, legends, beach and duty-free shopping.

With the cooperation from members of the travel trade industry, Tourism Malaysia hopes to turn Make It Malaysia into an annual promotional event to complement other marketing efforts.

Korea is among Malaysia’s key emerging markets registering an increase of 7.8 per cent from 263,428 arrivals in 2011 to 283,977 in 2012.

ENDS

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/

 

MALAYSIA TOURISM PROMOTION BOARD OR TOURISM MALAYSIA is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Malaysia. While the Ministry of Tourism & Culture implements tourism policies, conducts studies and offers incentives for industry players, Tourism Malaysia focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia at the domestic and international level. Driven by its aspiration to promote Malaysia as a destination of excellence in this region, Tourism Malaysia has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception and has emerged as a major player in the nation’s socio-economic landscape. In 2012, Malaysia registered 25 million tourist arrivals and RM60.6 billion in tourist receipts.

In 2014, Malaysia will celebrate its fourth VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR (VMY) with the theme “Celebrating 1Malaysia Truly Asia”. The VMY 2014 promotional campaign has started this year with a series of year-long special events and activities leading to VMY 2014. It will contribute to the Government’s target to receive 36 million tourist arrivals and RM168 billion in receipts by 2020, as outlined in the Malaysia Tourism Transformation Plan (MTTP) 2020.

Press contact:

Media Relations Unit:

Mr. Razaidi Abd Rahim, Senior Asst. Director, Communications & Publicity Division

Email: razaidi@tourism.gov.my

Editorial Unit:

Ms. Anis Rozalina Ramli, Editor, Communications & Publicity Division

Email: anisramli@tourism.gov.my