ABU DHABI, 7 May 2013 – Tourism Malaysia added another feather in its cap by garnering the “Best Global Tourism Advertising Campaign” award at the 4th Middle East Business Leaders Awards. The event, jointly organised by the Federation of GCC Chambers and The Leaders International, took place on 28 April at InterContinental Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The award was presented to Tourism Malaysia in recognition of its farsighted vision, being innovative and results-driven in moving forward the agenda of Malaysia’s tourism promotional and advertising activities worldwide.
 
The Middle East Business Leaders Awards is organised to foster goodwill, friendship and encourage better networking between ASEAN and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The event honours some of GCC region’s best business leaders and selected international recipients.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of awards to 25 niche global class business leaders who have made exceptional impact in business, community and nation building.              

The award is a proud addition to a string of other accolades that Malaysia garnered recently. Last year, Kuala Lumpur was ranked the second best shopping destination in Asia Pacific by Globe Shopper Index, while CNN listed it as the 4th best shopping city in the world.

Earlier this year, a survey carried out by Crescentrating, a Singapore-based Muslim travel consultancy, placed Malaysia as the top Muslim-friendly holiday destination, ahead of Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

This is a good indicator of Malaysia’s booming tourism industry, which has seen a steady growth in terms of tourist arrivals and receipts over the last decade. In 2012, the country’s tourist arrivals rose to 25 million, registering a growth of 1.3% compared to the previous year. Its tourist receipts climbed to RM60.6 billion, which was an increase of 3.8%. Tourist arrivals from West Asia increased by 3.2% to reach 370,535 compared to 358,994 in 2011. 

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, Malaysia. While the Ministry of Tourism implements tourism policies, conducts studies and offers incentives for industry players, Tourism Malaysia focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia at the domestic and international level. Driven by its aspiration to promote Malaysia as a destination of excellence in this region, Tourism Malaysia has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception and has emerged as a major player in the nation’s socio-economic landscape. In 2012, Malaysia registered 25 million tourist arrivals and RM60.6 billion in tourist receipts.

In 2014, Malaysia will celebrate its fourth VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR (VMY) with the theme “Celebrating 1Malaysia Truly Asia”. The VMY 2014 promotional campaign has started this year with a series of year-long special events and activities leading to VMY 2014. It will contribute to the Government’s target to receive 36 million tourist arrivals and RM168 billion in receipts by 2020, as outlined in the Malaysia Tourism Transformation Plan (MTTP) 2020.    

Press contact:
Media Relations Unit:
Mr. Razaidi Abd Rahim, Senior Asst. Director, Communications & Publicity Division
Email: razaidi@tourism.gov.my

Editorial Unit:
Ms. Anis Rozalina Ramli, Editor, Communications & Publicity Division
Email: anisramli@tourism.gov.my