Dr Mahesh Sharma, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent charge) Ministry of Tourism & Culture, India inaugurated the Tourism Malaysia booth at SATTE today. The Minister was joined by Dato’ Daljit Singh, Indian Community Relations Advisor to the Minister of Tourism & Culture Malaysia and a member of Tourism Malaysia Board of Directors. India is one of the top 10 tourist generating markets for Malaysia.
Tourism Malaysia is leading 50 Malaysian travel trade players and state tourism authorities to participate in the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE). It is in line with Malaysia’s efforts to boost arrivals from India, with as many as 7.7 lakh Indian tourists visiting Malaysia in 2014.
Leading the Malaysian delegation to the 23rd edition of SATTE is Dato’ Daljit Singh and he is accompanied by representatives from 18 travel agents/tour operators, three hotels/resorts, three tourism products/attractions, two state tourism authorities, and three airlines.
On January 30th, Tourism Malaysia is scheduled to give a special presentation to a group of women travellers, known as ‘Women With Wings’, to promote and launch the Malaysia Shopping Campaign. In the evening, an Appreciation Night will be held at The Imperial Hotel to thank travel agents who have helped promote and sell Malaysia to their clients. Besides that, the Malaysia Sales Carnival tour packages will also be launched.
To boost Indian arrivals, Tourism Malaysia will encourage and persuade more tour operators to develop and sell holiday packages to Malaysia with a focus on niche products like luxury travel, shopping, and sports tourism. A discussion will be carried out with the top travel trade associations in India, namely Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), India Tourism Golf Association, and Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI).
Tourism Malaysia’s participation in SATTE and its promotional efforts in India are expected to increase the number of Indian tourists to Malaysia. It aims to promote greater awareness of Malaysia as an ideal holiday destination, besides fostering greater cooperation between tour operators and members of the tourism fraternity.
This year marks the 11th year of Malaysia’s participation in SATTE since its debut in 1994. Last year, SATTE recorded the participation of over 650 exhibitors from more than 35 countries and 26 Indian States.
