TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN, 13 NOVEMBER 2019: Malaysia intends to inspire citizens in Central Asia with its sunny weather, beautiful islands and beaches, and adventures in its thick tropical rainforests. That’s the message that Tourism Malaysia is bringing to the Tashkent International Tourism Fair (TITF), a timely participation for the promotion of Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign in the last stretch of the year.

H.E. Mr. Hendy Assan the Ambassador of Malaysia to Uzbekistan, says, “Our participation this year is timely as we prepare for the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign -- a significant year in which Malaysia targets to attract 30 million tourists.”

This year, a total of six organisations from Malaysia are participating in TITF under the Tourism Malaysia banner namely World Express, Asia Premium Holidays, Fun & Sun Holidays, Embassy Alliance Travel, Lotus Desaru Beach Resort & Spa and Nationwide Travel & Tours.

“We believe that Malaysia can offer tourists from this market a unique, memorable and value-for-money holiday with affordable shopping for diverse products and brands, visa-free travel, variety of tours, natural beauty, sun and beaches, delicious food, comfort and convenience for Muslim tourists, and friendliness of the locals,” he adds.

More than 100 events have been lined up for next year’s Visit Malaysia 2020 celebrations to showcase Malaysia’s diverse culture and traditions. Some of these events are Royal Floria Putrajaya, Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak, Kuala Lumpur Fabulous Food Hunt, Melaka River International Festival and the many Open House celebrations of the different races in Malaysia.

For landlocked Uzbekistan and surrounding countries, Malaysia is a tropical paradise with a coastline that stretches more than 4,500 km and has close to 900 islands. Among the islands developed for tourism are Penang, Langkawi, Pangkor, Tioman, Redang and Perhentian islands, as well as an archipelago of smaller islands on the west coast of Johor. The exotic destinations of Sabah and Sarawak on the Borneo island also offer many wonderful island escapades, including diving at the world-renown Sipadan Island.

Currently, the Tashkent-Kuala Lumpur route is served by Uzebekistan Airlines twice a week with 368 seat capacity. Assan says, “Via this flight, Malaysia is just a eight-hour flight away and there are no visa requirements for entry into Malaysia for Uzbekistan tourists.”

The year 2020 has also been designated as the Malaysia Year of Healthcare Travel to showcase Malaysia as a world-class destination for healthcare and wellness. Malaysia has expertise in oncology, cardiology and fertility treatments, attracting 1.2 million healthcare travellers in 2018.

From January to July 2019, Malaysia welcomed 15,769,672 tourist arrivals to Malaysia, a growth of 4.9% from the same period last year. From this figure, some 7,891 were Uzbekistan tourists, an increase of 23.1% from the same period in 2018.

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.tourism.gov.my/

MALAYSIA TOURISM PROMOTION BOARD OR TOURISM MALAYSIA is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia. It focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia as a preferred tourism destination. Since its inception, it has emerged as a major player in the international tourism scene. In 2018, Malaysia registered 25.8 million tourist arrivals and RM84.1 billion tourist receipts, placing it among the major tourism destinations of the world.

For enquiries, please contact:

Media Unit
Muadz Samat
Assistant Director, Corporate Communication Division
muadz@tourism.gov.my
Tel: +603 8891 8755