KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism Malaysia in collaboration with the Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (Matta) kicked off the first roadshow in India across five cities from Jan 30 to Feb 7 this year.

In a statement today, Tourism Malaysia said the roadshow kicked off in the city of Chennai, followed by Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Zainuddin Abdul Wahab said the roadshow aims to provide a platform for industry players to steer the tourism sector to greater heights while ensuring that Malaysia continues to stand out in the mind of Indians.

"The pandemic has been tremendously challenging for us, but ever since the reopening of our international borders in April last year, I am glad to let you know that we have welcomed more than 7 million international tourist arrivals last year.

"Hence, we are optimistic about achieving higher numbers for this year where we target to welcome 15.6 million international tourists with RM47.6 billion in tourism receipts," he said.

Furthermore, Zainuddin noted that Tourism Malaysia is revving up its marketing efforts globally, including raising Malaysia's profile in the Indian market.

The mission is led by Senior Deputy Director of International Promotion (Asia & Africa) for Tourism Malaysia, Mohd Amirul Rizal Abdul Rahim together with MATTA, and supported by 30 organisations, comprising state tourism bodies, an airline, hotel and resort operators, travel agents and product owners.

According to Tourism Malaysia, India has been one of the top market sources for Malaysia and has contributed 735,309 arrivals and RM3.6 billion tourism expenditure in 2019 and there are currently 169 flights per week from India to Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Matta President Datuk Tan Kok Liang said Matta has successfully organised sales missions to India since 2016, in order to collaborate and promote Malaysia following with the recent tourist developments.

"We believe that this determination, accompanied by an effective promotional message, will improve the cross-promotional connection and create a stronger awareness of the India travel markets," he added.

Currently, Malaysia has launched a new eVISA Multiple Entry Visa (MEV) facility providing fly & cruise, wedding, medical treatment and business visitors purposes for Indian tourists that comes with a six-month validity, a 30-day length of stay (LOS) and costs only INR1,000 (RM52). - Bernama

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2023/01/875280/tourism-malaysia-matta-begin-first-roadshow-india-year