Tourism Malaysia
Showcases lesser-known enchanting getaways
With the adoption of COVID-safety measures being its topmost priority, Tourism Malaysia has geared up with a slew of fascinating and lesser-known destinations for Indian travellers. Datuk Seri Dr. Santhara J P, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia, provides useful insights into the current trending destinations in the country.
Be it leisure or business, Malaysia today is open for all segments of travellers. In an attempt to entice Indian leisure and business travellers to Malaysia in the postCOVID world, Tourism Malaysia in association with MATTA (Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents) hosted the Malaysia Travel Exchange in Kolkata on August 19, 2022. Supported by Batik Air and Sabah Tourism, this was the second leg of Tourism Malaysia’s roadshow in India which was also held in Visakhapatnam, Cochin and Tiruchirappalli.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Santhara J P explained, “We all have been the victims of the pandemic and have encountered a plethora of challenges. We opened our international borders in April this year. There is visa-on-arrival for Indian tourists heading to Malaysia from South-East Asian countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia. Malaysia is a unique destination starting from Langkawi in the North to Johor Bahru down South. There are exciting destinations, such as Kota Kinabalu in Sabah and Kuching in Sarawak. Once tourists visit these destinations, they will come across a wide range of cuisine, music, art and culture and one-of-a-kind hospitality. There are enchanting destinations, including Genting Highlands and golf courses. The fascinating beaches of Langkawi serve as destination wedding venues for Indians. There are over 200 golf courses in the country that have been rated as one of the best golf destinations in Asia. The best time to jet-set to Malaysia is all round the year.”
Tourists contemplating flying down to the country need to plan a holiday for a week and spend a couple of days in Kuala Lumpur, two nights in Malacca and the remaining few days in Penang and Langkawi. They can take a break for shopping and stroll along the beaches. A five-day visit to Malaysia would cost starting from $300. The Deputy Tourism Minister said, “India is a big source market for Malaysia. Around 60 per cent of Indian travellers visiting Malaysia come from South India owing to better flight connectivity, historical background and geographical position. With a sizeable population of South Indians having settled down in the country, their relatives tend to visit them. Besides, South Indian travellers travel to attend the weddings of their relatives settled in Malaysia. With changing times and several airlines connecting New Delhi and other cities in North India with Kuala Lumpur, the high-spending Indian tourists are from North India.” He also pointed out that West Bengal contributes around 30 per cent of Indian travellers to Malaysia.
“Malaysia is emerging as a popular destination for medical tourists from Kolkata. We are pushing a slew of destinations with our trade partners such as Desaru Coast, Kota Kinabalu, Malacca, Genting Highlands, Langkawi and Terengganu in West Malaysia,” further said the Deputy Tourism Minister. Terengganu is close to Taman Negara National Park, a premier national park in the country.
To provide assurance to global visitors and instill confidence among them on COVID-safety norms, MATTA has formed an alliance with the Malaysian Association of Hotels, Malaysian Aviation Group, Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers to set up Travel Safe Alliance Malaysia (TSAM) that has rolled out an extensive global safe travel solution certified by Bureau Veritas Certification. This has been approved by the Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia.
For double-dosed travellers, travelling to Malaysia is quarantine-free without any hassle of undergoing RTPCR tests before departure and on arrival. Dr. Santhara added, “Nearly 7,35,811 Indian tourists toured Malaysia in 2019. We had around 1,55,000 arrivals from India in 2020. As of now, we have received around 70,000 Indian travellers in the current year and we are targeting to have about 1 lakh Indian visitors by the year-end. We usually target about 2 million global visitors and the global footfalls will be 5 million by the year-end. With 3.9 million arrivals, China contributes the highest number of global travellers to Malaysia. We are engaged in both traditional physical campaigns and online promotions for our trade engagements.” South- East Asian countries like Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei and India are the five major tourist markets of Malaysia.
To tap the outbound tourism potential in the eastern region of India during the upcoming festive season, Batik Air (formerly known as Malindo Air) is all set to resume its flight operations in the Kolkata-Kuala Lumpur sector from October 1, 2022.