Spanish key partners forecast strong demands for Malaysia 2016

PUTRAJAYA, 28 January 2016 - Malaysia Truly Asia, the brand that promises global travellers the authentic Malaysia experience, was well featured at the 36^th edition of FITUR Madrid, an international travel show targeting global trade buyers for markets in Spain and the Latin Americas, which was held at Feria de Madrid from 20 to 24 January.

Leading the Malaysia delegation was the Honourable Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz accompanied by the Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Dato’ Rashidi Hasbullah, the Deputy Chairman of Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board Dato’ Zainol Abidin Omar, as well as six senior officials from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and Tourism Malaysia. Also in attendance was His Excellency Mr Kennedy Jawan, the Ambassador of Malaysia to Spain.

“This is our 14^th participation at FITUR in an effort to further boost the Spanish outbound leisure and business travel to Malaysia. With the support of major airlines, tour operators and distribution networks and MICE players in Spain, tourist arrivals from Spain had shown a positive result,” said Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri.

During the event, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri attended the inauguration of the 36th edition of FITUR by Her Majesty Queen Letizia of Spain and the 12th UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) Awards Ceremony.

He was also present at the high level meeting organised by UNWTO on Tourism and Security, which was co-chaired by the Secretary General of UNWTO Taleb Rifai and the Executive Director of UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) Mr Yury Fedotov. The meeting was attended by 47 full Ministers from the UNWTO member countries including Malaysia. The Malaysia delegation also held a meeting with UNWTO for the forthcoming World Tourism Conference 2016, which will take place in Penang from 17-19 October 2016.

The Tourism Minister had also met with top Spanish travel agents and airlines representatives from Emirates, Qatar and Etihad.

He also took the opportunity to meet with leading Spanish leisure trades and MICE partners, which included Catai Tours, El Corte Ingles with 700 retail travel outlets, and Carlson Wagonlit - MICE, one of the top business tourism partners in Spain.

In Madrid, the Tourism Minister was interviewed by various Spanish media including FITUR Trade Daily, Meet-In MICE magazine, news agency EFE and Conde Nast Traveller. The interviews gave an opportunity to highlight the best of Malaysia during FITUR.

During FITUR, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri congratulated the winner of the Come Discover More Quiz, Ms Sonia Igualador of Destino Asia who won a return economy air ticket to Malaysia for 2 persons on Qatar Airways including one return airport transfer, a 3-night stay in a 5-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur and a 3-night stay in a hotel in Kuching/Batang Ai, Sarawak sponsored by Tourism Malaysia.

“It is my hope that Tourism Malaysia’s latest global brand campaign, ‘Come Discover More’ will help create greater awareness of the destination among Spanish trades, corporates and consumers,” said Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri.

Apart from the traditional marketing and PR actions, Malaysia’s presence in the Spanish market was massively enhanced through strategic brand marketing partnerships with world-renowned sports partners in Spain such as the premier Sevilla FC and co-branding actions with Red Bull KTM Ajo Team for the Moto Grand Prix Aragon and Valencia. These marketing initiatives generated huge exposures for Malaysia among the Spanish consumers, reaching millions of spectators through sports events, extensive media coverage via print, web, radio, television and social media engagements.

The Spanish market has recorded a phenomenal growth of 35.3% in 2014. Up until September 2015, a total of 27,791 Spanish tourists visited Malaysia, an increase of 3.9% compared to 26,735 tourists in 2014.

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. Tourism Malaysia focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia at all levels. Since its inception, Tourism Malaysia has grown by leaps and bounds and it has emerged as a major player in the international tourism scene. In 2014, Malaysia registered 27.4 million tourist arrivals and RM72 billion in receipts, making tourism its second largest foreign exchange earner.

Through the Tourism NKEA (National Key Economic Area), collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, other Government agencies and the private sector have been enhanced to help secure Malaysia’s position as a leading tourist destination and achieve the country’s target of 36 million tourist arrivals and RM168 billion in receipts by 2020.

The targets set under the Tourism NKEA will be achieved through the implementation of twelve Entry Point Projects (EPPs) clustered under five themes: Affordable Luxury; Nature Adventure; Family Fun; Events, Entertainment, Spa and Sports; and Business Tourism.

Press contact:

Media Relations Unit:
Shukri Hanafiah, Senior Deputy Director, Corporate Communication Division
Tel: +603-8891 8767
Email: shukrihanafiah@tourism.gov.my

Editorial Unit:
Anis Rozalina Ramli (Ms), Senior Editor, Corporate Communication Division
Tel: +603-8891 8759
Email: anisramli@tourism.gov.my