HONG KONG, 5 November 2014: Tourism Malaysia Hong Kong’s aggressive promotional efforts using social media, including the launching of several Facebook campaigns, helped it to be voted as the  “Most Popular Social Media – Tourism Board” at the recent U Magazine Travel Award 2014. The promotions have created tremendous responses and successfully attracted more netizens to visit its Facebook fan page.

The General Manager of U Magazine Wilson Wong presented the award to the Director of Tourism Malaysia Hong Kong Norshamshida Abdul Rahman. It was witnessed by the Chairman of Tourism Malaysia Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen at a high level networking dinner with the top management of Hong Kong travel agent partners.

At the networking dinner, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Ng highlighted that Tourism Malaysia will be launching the Malaysia Year of Festivals (MyFEST) in 2015 and invited travel partners to join the celebration in Malaysia. She also thanked the prominent travel agents who have been supportive in promoting Malaysia’s tourist destinations in Hong Kong throughout Visit Malaysia Year 2014.  
 
U Magazine is a popular travel publication in Hong Kong. The U Magazine Travel Award 2014 has 48 categories where voters can cast their votes online for a duration of five weeks. The winners were chosen by over one hundred thousand members of the public who voted at U Magazine’s platform.

“On behalf of Tourism Malaysia, I would like to thank U Magazine and their fans on facebook for this award. The award will encourage us to organise more activities via social media and interact more with our facebook fans. We want them to receive the latest information on tourist destinations in Malaysia,” said Norshamshida.

In 2014, Tourism Malaysia Hong Kong has successfully introduced the Malaysian durian craze and Penang street art to Hong Kong people. In addition, the stage photos of the popular TV Drama “Outbound Love” that were posted on its Facebook page at the beginning of the year have also helped boost arrivals to Penang, the filming location. 

As Hong Kong people enjoy social media games, Tourism Malaysia Hong Kong will continue to organise different kinds of activities with free gifts through social media in order to create a stronger and age diversified network.

Fans can continue to keep themselves updated with information on various tourist attractions, events and activities in Malaysia through Tourism Malaysia Hong Kong Facebook page  www.facebook.com/tourismmalaysiahk.

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 2013, Malaysia registered 25.7 million tourist arrivals and RM65.4 billion in receipts, making tourism its second largest foreign exchange earner and the sixth highest contributor to its Gross National Income (GNI).

Malaysia is celebrating its fourth VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR (VMY) in 2014 with the theme “Celebrating 1Malaysia Truly Asia”. The promotion of the country continues with the MALAYSIA YEAR OF FESTIVALS (MyFEST) campaign in 2015 with the theme “Endless Celebrations” emphasising the various festivals celebrated by its multicultural society. Both campaigns are key drivers towards achieving the country’s target of 36 million tourist arrivals and RM168 billion in receipts by 2020, as outlined in the Tourism NKEA (National Key Economic Area).    

Through the Tourism NKEA, 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. 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 & Publicity Unit:
Azizah Aziz (Ms), Senior Deputy Director, Communications & Publicity Division
Tel: +603-8891 8752
Email: azizahaziz@tourism.gov.my

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