The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) aims to achieve sales of RM350mil during the 53rd MATTA Fair, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur from Sept 1-3. This represents a modest increase of RM50mil compared to the previous edition of the fair held in March, according to MATTA president Nigel Wong. He stated that there will be around 1,300 booths at the fair and they are targeting 220,000 visitors, up from the 200,000 achieved in the previous edition. Wong also mentioned that domestic travel is expected to contribute around RM70mil, almost double the sales figure of RM35mil achieved in March. He attributed this to the availability of new tourism products and changing travel habits, as more people are eager to explore Malaysia.
According to Wong, the wider promotion of domestic tourism during the pandemic has made people realize that Malaysia has a lot to offer without requiring them to spend excessive amounts of money on holidays. To facilitate visitors’ convenience, free shuttle bus services will be provided from two locations, KL Sentral and Sunway Putra Mall, departing for Mitec every 10 minutes from Sept 1-3. Traffic policemen will also be deployed at strategic intersections near the venue to ensure smooth traffic flow. The launch of the travel fair was attended by several dignitaries, including representatives from the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board, and Tourism Selangor.
In a speech delivered on behalf of Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, it was announced that the ministry has allocated RM25mil through the Tourism Sector Support Grant to support the tourism sector. The ministry has received 300 applications from industry players thus far. The number of foreign tourists visiting Malaysia has also seen a significant increase, with 1,821,521 visitors in July, a 69.3% rise from the same period last year. Tiong expressed hope for the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program to be featured in future MATTA Fairs and commended MATTA for its efforts in promoting Malaysian hospitality. The previous MATTA Fair in March attracted over 180,000 visitors and generated RM300mil in sales, with domestic sales alone accounting for RM34mil.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
