For the past nine days, a group of 28 local and international journalists, travel agents and motorcycle enthusiasts has been touring Malaysia on big bikes such as Kawasaki, KTM and BMW. They are here on a 10-day programme as Tourism Malaysia's invited guests under the Mega Fam programme to help promote Malaysia as a top biking destination.

The group, from India, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, arrived in Malaysia in time to watch the Malaysian Moto GP and take part in the 1st Asia Ducati Week activities. The latter event was the first time a gathering of Ducati enthusiasts was held in Asia.

They were given a tour of Malaysia's varied attractions covering cities, islands, villages, highlands and more. They rode to Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, visited the historic sites of Pasir Salak and Bukit Malawati, experienced the village life at Dorani Homestay, negotiated the hairpin bends of Cameron Highlands and Fraser's Hill, among others.

Co-organised by WTR, the Malaysia Brotherhood Ride 2010 was sponsored by NAZA Group of Companies, Pennzoil, KTM, Malaysia Airlines and Modenas.

Due to the growing interest in big bike tours and the potential to reach out to a high-income market, Tourism Malaysia is keen to develop this niche interest into another highly-marketable tourism product. In June this year, some 300 Harley Davidson owners from all over the world gathered in Malaysia for the 1st Southeast Asia Harley Owners Group Rally 2010. The event saw the group convoy from Singapore to Malaysia and Thailand.

It just goes to show that Malaysia is well-positioned as an attractive biking destination thanks to its well-connected highways, exotic culture, and diverse attractions. There is also an opportunity to work with neighbouring countries to create a three-destination biking package that will offer more value-for-money for bike enthusiasts.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON MEGA FAM PROGRAMME:

The Mega Fam programme is organised with the support from local and foreign airlines, Malaysian hotels and state governments. Established in year 2000, it is a part of Tourism Malaysia's promotional strategy to create greater awareness of Malaysia as a tourist destination. Its main objective is to offer the participants a personal experience of the attractions, tourist destinations, and products and services in Malaysia in order to develop tour packages and generate publicity on the country as a preferred destination for leisure and MICE.

The publicity and exposure gained, especially through the participation of foreign media in this programme, has been very high. A total of 1,500 Mega Fam participants were hosted last year, generating a publicity value of RM69 million (about USD21 million). A total of 18 programmes were organised last year in conjunction with major festivals and tourism events. This year, 15 Mega Fam events have been planned.