KUALA LUMPUR: The arrival of 30 million tourists and RM100 billion in receipts by the year 2020 will be the target of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to make Malaysia as one of the most popular tourists’ destinations in the world
The effort could be realized by awarding TUI Group from Germany with the inbound, outbound and ticketing licenses to establish their own travel agency in Malaysia under the name TUI International Holiday (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Deputy Director General (Promotion) Tourism Malaysia, Datuk Seri Abdul Khani Daud said, through the Fly & Cruise package, more than 7,000 tourists are expected to fly in to Pulau Langkawi from London, Birmingham and Manchester for a 7 day-6 night cruise in ASEAN waters starting in December.
“Langkawi will be the homeport for two ships Marella and MeinSchiff over the campaign period. This initiative is expected to put Langkawi in the spotlight as a cruise hub and Malaysia as an ideal holiday and cruise destination for the European market,” he said reading the speech text of the Minister, Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi at Matic here on Monday.
Mohamaddin also said, in 2017 about 25.9 million tourists visited Malaysia with RM82.2 billion in receipts and with TUI coming in with interesting and exciting packages it is expected to attract more tourists from Germany and Europe to Malaysia.
The Minister in his speech text also said Malaysia will be the Partner Country for ITB 2019. ITB is the most important travel exhibition worldwide and it will be held from 6 to 10 March 2019 in Berlin.
“It would be a great platform for Malaysia and TUI to work hand in hand to present the Malaysia packages by TUI to all agents worldwide at ITB,” he added.
Malaysia’s relationship with TUI Group goes back over 45 years with the presence of Tourism Malaysia Offices in Frankfurt, Germany and other parts of Europe. In 2016 and 2017, TUI was awarded the Best Tour Operator in Europe by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia.
Meanwhile Head of Public Policy Group Corporate and External Affairs TUI Group, Frank Puttmann said, with their strength in Europe, they can add new markets and combine the holiday products in the global market.
“We can develop tourism in South East Asia as well as globally with our presence in Malaysia as nowadays no business can stand alone. We have to develop an integrated tourists’ approach,” he said to the media after receiving a certificate from the Chairman of Tourism Malaysia, Datuk Ahmad Shah Hussein Tambakau on Monday.
He added, TUI presence in Malaysia will also give job opportunities where 50 Malaysians will be recruited to work in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Pulau Langkawi offices for the Pacific markets. –Malaysia World News
