There is one thing on the mind of Tourism Malaysia and the country’s travel trade right now, and it is to rebuild the tourism industry that had suffered two tough years.
The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) is working closely with Tourism Malaysia on this critical task. The immediate plan after the reopening of the country’s borders on April 1 was to jointly organise a sales mission to India, from April 18 to 29 covering six cities, namely New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.
MATTA’s vice president inbound and domestic, Ganneesh Ramaa, told TTG Asia: “Our first physical sales mission (post-lockdown) was an important one, as the Indian market has traditionally been our second largest medium-haul market after China. We wish to make Malaysia the top-of-mind destination for Indian travellers and regain market share post pandemic; to rebuild the momentum and look forward to the Indian summer peak travel season from mid-May to the first week of June.”
Throughout the sales mission, Malaysia representatives highlighted the health and hygiene measures taken by hotels, food establishments, convention centres, as well as tours and transportation operators.
“As a member of Travel Safe Alliance Malaysia, MATTA’s operations has been certified by Bureau Veritas to meet stringent health and safety protocols, so (Indian partners) can be assured that their clients’ stay in Malaysia will be safe, pleasant and enjoyable,” said Ganneesh.
Besides India, Europe is also on the radar. Both agencies are working on marketing and sales strategies to attract more Europeans to Malaysia. This includes participating in B2B travel tradeshows such as IFTM Top Resa in Paris in September, The Luxury Travel Fair in London this November, and FITUR 2023 in Madrid.
Ganneesh revealed that MATTA was planning to go on sales missions to Eastern Europe this year, covering Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Romania.
“Our aim is to regain market share by showcasing our varied and diverse attractions, such as islands and beaches, gastronomy, culture and lifestyle. Attending the B2B travel shows and organising sales missions to Eastern Europe is an opportunity to enhance awareness of Malaysia’s diverse attractions, forge relationships with travel trade partners, and make Malaysia a top-of-mind destination.”
The Finance Ministry has allocated a special RM5 million (US$1.2 million) tourism fund for this year, channelled through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture with Tourism Malaysia appointed as executor.
The fund, named Gamelan Malaysia, is a matching grant that works on the basis of reimbursable financial assistance whereby eligible companies may claim 50 per cent of the actual cost of their promotional project, up to a ceiling of RM200,000.
Meanwhile, national carrier, Malaysia Airlines, aims to gradually increase its frequencies and network to achieve around 70 per cent of its pre-Covid 19 capacity by end of this year.
A source said the carrier is currently seeing higher demand from India, which is its signature route, as well as from the UK and Australia into Malaysia.
It has, so far, increased frequencies on its flagship Kuala Lumpur-London route to 11 times weekly, and will return to double daily services from July 1.
For 2022, Malaysia is targeting two million international tourists and total receipts exceeding RM6.8 billion.
Following a spike in Thailand Pass registrations over the last few weeks, new data from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) indicates that the country is on target to welcome 20 million arrivals in 2023.
The uptick in arrivals comes in response to the relaxation of entry rules in April, the full removal of Test and Go PCR requirements, and the minimum Covid insurance coverage halved to US$10,000 on May 1.
As of May 3, TAT’s figures totalled 853,165 international visitors to Thailand – 74,414 from the UK, 63,342 from Germany, 55,995 from Russia, 51,783 from India and 49,792 from the US. This marked an increase of 139,982 in arrivals announced on April 25.
According to TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn, the impact of the new guidelines will fare even better if China – which made up the lion’s share of arrivals in happier times – eases her travel restrictions as well.
“The industry next year is poised to strengthen from this year, making the goal of attracting 20 million tourists, half the total in 2019, achievable. This is particularly the case if China, which previously contributed one-third of arrivals, lifts border controls by that time.”
The predicted boost in arrivals should translate to approximately 80 per cent of 2019 levels – or about 2.4 trillion baht (US$69.6 billion) in predicted revenue for 2023.
The governor added that the immediate future of the low-season longhaul market is also looking up, and could mean that Thailand will receive as many as 500,000 tourists by the end of this month.
To maximise the opportunities presented by the surge in arrivals and encourage more tourists to return to Thailand, TAT is planning to submit an application to the Center for Economic Situation Administration for a campaign designed to promote the city’s culture, attractions and famous nightlife.