JOHOR BAHRU, 17 November 2022 – Tourism Malaysia office in Singapore is actively re-building tourism demand in line with its effort to boost arrivals from Singapore to Malaysia by organising the Meet-The-Experts programme.

A total of 40 travel agents from Singapore participated in this full-day programme to give opportunity for them to get to know more about Malaysia. The participants attended to cultural heritage workshop at Yayasan Warisan Johor and a Meet-the-Experts seminar featuring tourism-related topics at Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel.

Participants also had a tutorial on Tarian Zapin, with hands-on experience on Malay cultural activities and learnt about Johor’s heritage. The Meet-the-Experts seminar aims to foster business engagement and understanding between Singapore travel agents and Malaysia’s stakeholders.

A total of five associations attended the seminar represented by Mr. Jimmy Leong, the President of the Malaysian Tourist Guides Council, Mr. Shahrul Nizar Ahmad, Secretary General of the Malaysian Association of Themepark & Family Attractions, Mr. Khairul Ariffin Ibrahim, Research Committee of Malaysia Shopping Malls Association, Mr. Mohammad Isa Abdul Halim, Director, Experiential & Events of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau and Ms. Kam Su En, Vice President of Association of Malaysian Spas.

The Director General of Tourism Malaysia, Dato’ Hj. Zainuddin Abd Wahab said that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia had set the target to achieve 9.2 million international tourists with estimated tourism revenue of MYR 26.8 billion or SGD 8.1 billion. Singapore is still Malaysia’s most important tourist market in terms of arrival and receipt.

He added that based on current Immigration data from January to July 2022, Malaysia recorded 1,809,837 tourist arrivals from Singapore out of total arrivals of 3,208,378. He believes the strong partnership and accessibility between Malaysia and Singapore over the years has helped to explore new areas of cooperation, such as promoting and developing new attractive tourism products and packages.

Some of the new developments in the marketplace are Batam Fast Ferry Service will commence three times daily from Tanah Merah, Singapore to Tanjung Pengelih, Johor on 25 November 2022. Others are Scoot Airlines’s plan to reinstate its Kuantan-bound flight on 30 November 2022 and Berjaya Air’s plans to commence flights from Singapore to Redang Island anytime soon.

He further added that Singaporeans love food and shopping in Malaysia and with its strong currency, everyone can enjoy a good holiday in Malaysia.

The night was concluded with a traditional Malay Kampung Theme Dinner and a performance entertained by Yayasan Warisan Johor.

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About Tourism Malaysia

Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, also known as 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. For more information, visit Tourism Malaysia’s social media accounts at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.

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