KUALA LUMPUR, 25 November 2017 – As the year draws to a close, it is time, once again to enjoy year-end bargains during the annual Malaysia Year End Sale.

As part of efforts to promote shopping activities in Malaysia and introduce the country’s digital shopping icon, Tourism Malaysia is organising the Miss SHOPhia Shopping Hunt 2.0. This is the second time Tourism Malaysia has launched this shopping event since its debut last year, which was a major success in promoting Malaysia as a shopping haven.

The event, to be flagged off by YBrs. Mr. Manoharan Periasamy, the Director of Package Development Division of Tourism Malaysia today at the Kuala Lumpur Craft Complex, is in conjunction with the annual Malaysia Year End Sale, which features discounts and promotions in shopping malls across the country from 1 November to 31 December 2017.

The Shopping Hunt aims to promote Malaysia’s latest shopping malls, such as the new MyTOWN Shopping Centre and Sunway Velocity Mall. It also highlights the ease of commuting within the Klang Valley using the Rapid KL mass public transportation system such as MRT, LRT, Rapid Bus and Monorail which has integrated the operations of rail and bus services, thus expanding the range of coverage in the city and sub-urban areas.

It also shines the limelight on the iconic Miss SHOPhia which is Tourism Malaysia’s digital shopping ambassador created to promote Malaysia’s many shopping attractions.

Through Tourism Malaysia’s partnership this year with Boost, a mobile lifestyle wallet developed in Malaysia by Axiata Digital Services, participants of the shopping hunt will also have the unique chance to experience easy, fast and secure cashless transactions in Malaysia. Participants only need to pay using their mobile phones at selected merchant stores without the hassle of using physical cash or credit cards.

More than 600 participants are expected to join the Shopping Hunt today, which include the public, local media representatives, international (Asean) social-media influencers and bloggers.

Participants will be divided into 150 teams of four, and the hunt will take them through some of the major shopping areas such as Avenue K, Fehrenheit88, Sunway Velocity Mall, Sunway Putra Mall, Lot10, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Suria KLCC, Sungei Wang Plaza, Plaza Low Yat, Sogo Kuala Lumpur, Central Market, and Quill City Mall before ending at MyTOWN Shopping Centre, Kuala Lumpur. Throughout the hunt, participants will use Facebook to upload and share pictures of their activities – the picture with the most likes will receive RM500.

In addition, participants will have the chance to win total cash prizes amounting to RM17,000.00 and various interesting prizes such as shopping vouchers, digital vouchers, air miles, return flight tickets and entrance fee passes worth of RM160,000.00.

The industry partners who are involved and are on-board as sponsors of this event are Boost (Axiata Digital), Perbadanan Kemajuan Kraftangan Malaysia, Batu Road Retailers Association (BARRA), Harisons, Gulati’s Silk House, Juice Works, New Image Optical, Sepiring, AirAsia, Sasuke Premium Outlet, Sunway Velocity Hotel and Themed Attractions Hotels & Resorts Sdn. Bhd, major shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur including MyTown Shopping Centre, Sunway Velocity Mall, Sunway Putra Mall, Suria KLCC, Avenue K, Fahrenheit 88, Pavilion KL, Lot10, Central Market, Quill City Mall, Sogo KL, Sungei Wang Plaza, and Plaza Low Yat.

Background on Malaysia:

Tourist arrivals grew by 4.0% to 26.8 million tourists in 2016 while tourist receipts rose by 18.8%, contributing RM82.1 billion to the country’s revenue. The increased tourist receipts were the result of tourists staying longer in Malaysia – up 0.4 nights to 5.9 nights in 2016 – and spending more. In particular, tourist expenditure on shopping reached RM26 billion in 2016, an increase of 20.3% compared to 2015. Meanwhile till the second quarter of 2017, Malaysia has received RM12.3 billion of tourist expenditure, signifying an increase of 4.9% against the same period last year. This trend is a clear reflection of Malaysia’s current profile as a shopping destination as acknowledged by a series of reputable rating agencies.

Malaysia has received several international recognitions including the world’s Fifth Best Shopping Destination by Expedia UK in 2016, and the Second Best Shopping Destination 2015 for Muslims in the OIC

Destination based on Crescent Rating and MasterCard Muslim Travel Shopping Index. Kuala Lumpur was also crowned the world’s Fourth Best Shopping City by global news network CNN for two consecutive years (in 2012 and 2013), while Geneva-based Globe Shopper Index ranked the city as the Second Best Shopping Destination in Asia-Pacific in 2012.

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 & 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 2016, Malaysia registered 26.8 million tourist arrivals and RM82.1 billion in receipts, placing it among the major tourism destinations of the world.

Press contact:

Media Relations Unit:
Edzuar Zar Ayob Azari, Senior Deputy Director, Corporate Communication Division
Tel: +603-8891 8767
Email: edzuar@tourism.gov.my

Editorial Unit:

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