DUBAI, 24 April 2017 – The Minister of Tourism and Culture Malaysia Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz is leading a delegation of 142 Malaysian sellers from 71 organisations to participate in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM). The prestigious annual event will once again be held in Dubai, from 24 to 27 April.

Tourism Malaysia returns to ATM for the 24th year with the country’s tourism trade players to promote some of the country’s latest attractions and destinations for shopping, family fun, eco adventure, honeymoon, and luxury holidays.

The Malaysian delegation is comprised of a good mix of hotels and resorts, travel agents, tourism product owners, and representatives from state tourism boards. During the 4-day event, they will be highlighting their respective tourism products and services that cater specially for the Middle Eastern market.

Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri officially launched the Malaysia Pavilion today at the Sheikh Saeed Arena and met the media later at a press conference.

"We will continue to place strong emphasis and focus on this market as it is a huge market, not only in terms of outbound tourism, but also trade and investment. Hence, we will be stepping up our promotional efforts here," said the Minister of Tourism and Culture Malaysia during the launch.

Dato' Seri Mohamed Nazri is scheduled to meet up with the top management of a few Middle Eastern airlines such as Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Etihad Airways to discuss future collaborations, besides having several interviews with the local media.

The Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) launched an online travel portal today called “Salam Standard Premium”. This collaboration with Tripfez Travel is a hospitality rating system for Muslim-friendly amenities and services to increase the overall experience of Muslim travellers. Besides that, Dnata also launched some travel packages to Malaysia.

Other initiatives include the launching of a Muslim travel guide to Penang by Halal Penang and a Malaysia brochure by Explore the Wonders. Besides that, Media Hub International will be launching the Malaysia Travel Guide.

On 25 April, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri will be hosting a gala dinner at Grand Hyatt Dubai to thank the tourism fraternity in Dubai and the local media for their support and assistance in promoting Malaysia.

Malaysia is proud to be associated with ATM as it is the region’s leading travel trade event, dedicated to unlocking business potential in the Middle East. With its growing number of tourist destinations, ATM will showcase a diverse range of accommodation options, tourist attractions and new airline routes.

Through its participation in ATM, Tourism Malaysia seeks to attract more West Asian tourists to its shores to achieve its tourism target for 2017. Last year, Malaysia received 287,398 tourists from West Asia, signifying a drop of 9.1% compared to 316,209 tourists in 2015.

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