Sep 7, 2015
TOURISM MALAYSIA TO BOOST ARRIVALS FROM SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE, 7 September 2015 – The Minister of Tourism and Culture Malaysia Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz met Singapore’s top travel agents and media today in efforts to boost tourist arrivals from the market. The visit aims to formulate measures to attract more travellers from Singapore to visit Malaysia, following the drop in arrivals from the country in the first quarter of 2015.
Singapore arrivals into Malaysia last year was 13.9 million, a growth of 5.7 percent, however, the first three months of 2015 showed an 8.6 percent drop.
Dato’ Seri Nazri said, “We need to carry out various initiatives to drive growth from Singapore for the remaining months. We are intensifying our efforts here through joint promotions and tactical campaigns.”
During the Business Luncheon with the Singapore trade and media at The St. Regis Singapore, Dato’ Seri Nazri shared with guests some of Tourism Malaysia’s efforts to boost arrivals from Singapore including partnerships with the trade at the Travel Malaysia Fair 2015, joint collaborations with Malindo Air, a Durian Fiesta initiative, the development of special diving packages, the promotion of Malaysia as a music and entertainment hub, as well as the joint tactical campaigns in the market.
The Minister also updated guests on various tourism developments to keep them abreast of Malaysia’s latest tourism offerings and events.
He said, “Another exciting development that I would like to share with you is the introduction of the daily train shuttle service by KTM Berhad between JB Sentral, Malaysia, and Woodlands, Singapore. This train service, which operates seven times a day from Singapore to Malaysia, offers Singapore tourists more options now to travel to Malaysia.”
He added, “This service provides great convenience to Singapore tourists, and complements the existing connectivity that our two destinations currently enjoy. With the support from the airlines industry, we now have 489 flight frequencies per week with 73,314 seating capacity.
“With all these efforts and new developments in place, along with your assistance and strong support, I am confident that we will be able to achieve our target arrivals from Singapore this year,” he said.
Through the visit, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri also aims to strengthen the presence of Malaysia in Singapore and build a stronger relationship with the travel agents and media. Besides that, he also publicised the Malaysia Year of Festivals (MyFest) 2015 and encouraged local travel agents to work closer with their Malaysian counterparts to develop more creative and innovative holiday packages to Malaysia.
The Minister is scheduled to visit Batam and meet with travel agents and media there to promote Malaysia as well.
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 2014, Malaysia registered 27.4 million tourist arrivals and RM72 billion in receipts, making tourism its second largest foreign exchange earner.
Malaysia celebrated 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 Relations Unit:
Chresentia F.B. Sadatal (Ms), Assistant Director, Corporate Communication Division
Tel: +603-8891 8776
Email: chresentia@tourism.gov.my
Editorial Unit:
Anis Rozalina Ramli (Ms), Senior Editor, Corporate Communication Division
Tel: +603-8891 8759
Email: anisramli@tourism.gov.my
