TOURISM Malaysia has once again set out their marketing plans for the Middle East market in an effort to keep up the record breaking arrival numbers it witnessed in 2008.
In 2008, Malaysia drew 22.05 million visitors, including 264,338 arrivals from the Middle East, generating $13.76 billion in receipts.
Topping the list of Middle East arrivals last year was Saudi Arabia with 74,632 visitors, followed by Iran (63,165), United Arab Emirates (34,994) and Kuwait (18,853).
Hj Azizan Noordin, deputy director general for Tourism Malaysia spoke to TTN at the recently concluded Arabian Travel Market 2009 and said that this year the country will aim to introduce new destinations in Malaysia to their Middle East guests.
“We want to promote new destinations such as Johor, Terengganu, Pahag, Sabah and Sarawak by offering value for money packages, particularly during our lean (off-peak) periods.” He said the hotels have undergone several adjustments to suit the habits of Middle Eastern guests, including extending meal times and longer hours for the retail outlets,” he said.
The tourism board was looking towards second and third generation tourists, meaning a restrategised tourism product was necessary. “We have younger guests today, who are interested in activities like golfing, jungle trekking, diving and no longer just shopping and leisure. And they are keen on visiting newer destinations outside Kuala Lumpur like Sabah and Borneo,” said Noordin.
Tourism Malaysia has set a target to bring in 250,000 visitors from the Middle East in 2009. The Malaysian delegation at ATM this year saw over 100 representatives from 84 organisations, comprising 55 hotels, 23 tour operators, four state governments, KL Tower and Malaysia Airlines.
“We have had a rough start into 2009, with the current economic downturn, the swine flu and political tension in our neighbouring countries like Thailand, all of which has affected arrival numbers. We are in constant talks with our agents in Europe to ensure that arrival numbers stay buoyant in 2009. This year, we will also continue to attract tourists from China, Japan, Korea and the ASEAN countries as well as promote domestic tourism in a bid to counter any drop in long haul tourist arrivals,” he said. “Other top long and medium haul markets include Australia, India and the UK.”
“The first quarter of 2009 has already witnessed a five per cent drop in arrivals, but we have seen some good arrivals especially from Saudi Arabia and the biggest surprise from Iran, which saw an increase of 156 per cent tourist arrivals, ” he added.
By Shalu Chandran
