Malaysian Tourism Minister Lunched “PATA” in Langkawi

MALAYSIA:
YB Tuanuan Mohamaddin KetapiI, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia, officially inaugurated Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)Travel Mart 2018 in Langkawi today, marking the start of the third edition of the show in Malaysia (1986 and 2005).
PATA Travel Mart 2018 (PTM 2018), hosted by Malaysia, has attracted over 1,400 delegates from 70 global destinations. The delegate numbers embraced 389 sellers from 208 organisations and 33 destinations with local sellers comprising 32% of the total, along with 252 buyers from 241 organisations and 53 source markets.
PTM 2018 officially opened in Langkawi, Malaysia on Wednesday, September 12 with the PTM 2018 Welcome Reception, presided by the Right Honourable Dato Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Dr. Wan Ismail, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, taking place at the Langkawi International Convention Center (LICC).
YB Tuan Mohamaddin bin Ketapi said in press conference today :”We are pleased that PATA has chosen us in 2018. We are convinced that stock exchanges bring us a lot of exposure. That is why I am also pleased that I can announce that in 2019 Malaysia will be partner country of the ITB in Berlin. In addition to participation in the fair, our marketing & promotion strategy until 2020 will focus on digital. We will especially opt for communication and image building via social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube are the 4 largest channels. ”
He explain “We are also seeing the industry invigorated by the opening of renowned hotel property brands here. In fact, the hotel sector grew by 8.5% with 250 new hotels in 2017. A number of established hotel brands have ventured into Malaysia for the first time recently, while some of them are poised to enter the
market in the near future. Looking ahead, there are as many as 130 hotels with 26,000 rooms incoming”.
He informed the media reporters :”All these developments signify our genuine interest to
strengthen our presence as a tourist destination. Last year’s tourism performance saw Malaysia welcoming a total of 25.9 million tourists with RM82.2 billion in receipts. With these new developments, we hope to serve our tourism partners across the globe better and give complete assurance of our commitment to tourism growth. We look forward to seeing our arrival figures grow to 30 million and tourist receipts reach RM100 billion by the year 2020”.
His excellency said:”Moving forward, our direction for 2018-2020 are to optimise digital marketing; focus on industry collaborations; leverage on major events for publicity; also leverage on mega projects coming on board in Malaysia; integrate our marketing campaigns with other Government agencies; and promote Malaysia as a filming destination.
”We are optimistic that the tourism industry will flourish in light of upcoming infrastructure and facilities developments, our promotional and marketing strategies for 2018 until 2020, and support from the Government and private sector”. he added
More hotel beds and flight connections Bin Ketapi added””We are convinced that we can again achieve growth for our beautiful destinations. We have invested a lot in recent years to provide more flight connections and hotel beds. A number of airlines have responded enthusiastically to our special incentive program, during which we invest in the first year to start the flights. Discounts are also offered in the field of landing rights. A good example is the new Frankfurt-Kuala Lumpur connection from Condor, which starts in November. And TUI Fly also starts with flights from London to Langkawi. Compared to June 2017, we now have 2.8 million airline seats every month, an increase of 14.7%, “according to the minister.
He continues: “The number of hotels has increased by 8.5%. In 2017, 250 new hotels opened their doors. We are happy and proud that hotel chains such as Sheraton, Mercure, W, St Regis, Hyatt, Anantara, Hilton, Marriot and others believe in Malaysia and invest. In the coming years, another 130 hotels (26,000 beds) will be opened, in all categories, with a focus on the 5-star segment. ”
First TUI office in Southeast Asia “Another decision I really appreciate is the fact that the TUI Group has decided to open an office in Malaysia for the first time in Southeast Asia. They will fly more to destinations and the cruise branch will also include Malaysia in the routes more often. In their view, their own office was logical. Something I fully endorse, ” said the Minister bin Ketapi.
He said:”Malaysia is pleased to be destination host of PATA Travel Mart (PTM), which we last hosted in 1986 and 2005. We are much delighted that this event has returned here, this time, to the beautiful island of Langkawi. His excellency added: For many, PTM is considered the biggest tourism trade platform in Asia Pacific. As the host country of PTM, it is an opportunity for us to promote Malaysia as the ideal leisure and business destination. With an overwhelming 67 Malaysian sellers on board this year, we are really leveraging hard on this opportunity to meet international buyers. The Malaysian sellers include the private sector and state governments/agencies such Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Penang, Labuan, Kedah and Johor”.
His excellency talked about advertising and promotions campaigns dying that it have been enhanced with digital marketing and platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to increase our digital presence and to reach out to an increasingly mobile and tech-savvy market.