SUNGAI PETANI, 10 JULY 2019 –A total of 25 media representatives from various newspapers, magazines and social media platforms, are taking part in the Ekspresi Media –Lembah Bujang 2019 programmefrom 8 to 11 July. This initiative by Tourism Malaysia is to engage with local media and encourage them to promote tourist destinations in Kedah, especially as a build-up to the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign.

In this second edition of Ekspresi Media, the programme retainselements of sightseeing and product inspections, hands-on experiences and product briefings by professionals in the industry to provide a well-rounded experience of Kedah and showcase some of the state’s hidden touristic gems. Moreover, the programme also aims to forge closer relations between the tourism promotion board, the tourism private sector players and the media.

The media will gain some fascinating experiences includingcruising down Sungai Merbok and visiting the remains of an old palace at Pulau Tiga and Lubuk Pusing, learning about the mangrove swamp ecosystem and exploring an oyster farm.

Besides a visit to the Sungai Batu Archeological Site and Lembah Bujang Archeological Museum, which are the main tourist attractions in the Kuala Muda area, participants will also have the chance to play with deer at the Batas Ubi Deer Farm, witness the process of extracting the sweet nectar (nira) from the nipah tree, a species of the palm, at Ladang Nira Nipah and explore the beautiful Jerai Botanical Park.

A special briefing on the history and origins of Kedah will also be conducted by YBhg. Dato’ Dr. Wan Shamsudin Mohd Yusof, President of the Kedah History Association and iconic historian of Kedah.

Tourism Malaysia hopes that the media will share stories of their Kedah explorations with their readers and audience in their respective publications or social media platforms and in turn create the interest for them to visit Kedah.

It is expected that some 40 to 50 stories will be generated by this group of participants, consisting of feature articles and postings and stories on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and blogs.From the sharing and re-posting of these entries, Tourism Malaysia looks forward to gain between 2 million and 4 million audience reach as the outcome of the Ekspresi Media – Lembah Bujang 2019 programme.

Fully utilizing the power of social media, hashtags such as #tourismmalaysia, #malaysiatrulyasia, #cuticutimalaysia, #vm2020 and #ekspresimedia2019 will be used throughout the programme to gain more traction for the publicity.

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.

Press contact:

Media Unit:
Muadz Bin Samat, Assistant Director,
Corporate Communication Division
Tel: +603-88918755
Email: muadz@tourism.gov.my