Malaysia will stop hosting the Formula One Grand Prix after 2018 when the current agreement expires, but this is unlikely to put the brakes on inbound and incentive business, according to industry feedback.
Malaysia’s tourism and culture minister Nazri Abdul Aziz said the race is an unsustainable revenue source as the country is still unable to recoup the RM300 million spent on the annual event, with ticket sales declining over the years.
Adam Kamal, CEO, Olympik Holidays, observed that ticket sales have dwindled over the last six years, a trend he attributed to the presence of more FI races in Asia. Singapore started hosting the race in 2008 and Abu Dhabi a year later.
He added: “Many of the spectators are locals who just watch the races and go home. They don’t stay in hotels or go on tours, so there’s not much economic spillover.”
Business from F1 was less volume-driven, unlike the more popular MotoGP races also held at the same circuit, noted Arokia Das, senior manager at Luxury Tours Malaysia.
“For MotoGP we sell over 300 packages, but for F1 we sell a maximum of 30 packages. F1 is an added attraction for incentives to come here and watch the race as a pre- or post-event. However, (only a) select few delegates are interested; it has a higher appeal to incentive delegates from the automobile industry.”
Adam, who is also the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association secretary general, hopes that government dollars allocated for the promotion of the F1 event in Malaysia would be used for other tourism purposes.
