Rovia aims to bring more than 20,000 tourists into Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: USheadquartered travel agency Rovia and DreamTrips vacation club aim to add US$20 million (RM98 million) to Malaysia’s tourism receipts this year.

Rovia president Jim Menge said the company was targeting to bring in more than 20,000 tourists into Malaysia in order to achieve the targeted expenditure number.

‘’As a travel business operator, this is one of the most important benefits that we bring to different countries as we bring in-bound customers,’’ he told Bernama after launching a DreamNight Carnival Party fundraiser here on Friday.

The event was organised byRo via and WorldVentures Foundation, owner of the DreamTrips brand.

Menge said despite the global economic downturn, the travel industries did not always depend on global economies.

“In fact, people still travel even though the global economy is not looking too bright,” he added.

Through Rovia’s flagship travel membership club DreamTrips, hundreds of travellers spent an evening at Berjaya Times Square Theme Park recently that benefited the WorldVentures Foundation’s Sumba School Project.

Jim Menge said the project aimed to provide educational opportunities to children from Sumba, Barat Daya in Indonesia, as well as essential items to help them succeed.

This includes access to clean water and proper sanitation.

“Less than half of the 95,000 children between the ages of three and seven years old in Indonesia attend school and the number drops to 28 per cent in Sumba in the western part of the island,” he said.

Meanwhile, WorldVentures chief executive Josh Paine said children in Indonesia must have a certificate of reading and writing in order to be admitted to primary school.