Malaysia attends TITE 2019 to promote tourism

Tourism Malaysia aims to welcome some 12,000 Iranian tourists to Malaysia during the Iranian New Year holiday, Norouz.

As part of efforts to achieve this goal, Tourism Malaysia participated in the 12th Tehran International Tourism Exhibition 2019 (TITE), according to a fax sent to Iran Daily.

It is the main Iranian tourism exhibition held annually in Tehran, and in which Malaysia has been participating since 2009.

Tourism Malaysia’s participation in TITE this year sees four tourism industry players from Malaysia.

Leading the Malaysian delegation, Noor Azman Samsudin, the deputy director of International Promotions (Asia and Africa), said, “Iran has been among the top-performing markets for Malaysia with potential for stronger growth. Our presence here at TITE is part of our marketing plan to pursue this market and show support to our industry partners here in Iran.”

Malaysia’s participation in the exhibition provides an avenue for Malaysia tourism industry players to network and solicit for new business with the Iranian counterparts.

It is also a platform to update the industry players of Malaysia’s latest tourism developments and strengthen awareness on Malaysia as an ideal holiday destination for this market.

In 2017, Iran was among the top five markets with highest per capita expenditure in Malaysia amounting to RM 7,009.90.

In addition, the first nine months of 2018 registered almost 60,000 tourist arrivals from Iran to Malaysia, showing a 32.2-percent growth compared to the figure for the same period in 2017.

The strong performance from the Iran market is a result of Tourism Malaysia’s aggressive promotion in Iran in 2018.

Three seminars were held in Tehran, Isfahan and Mashhad to update Iranian travel agents and media on Malaysia as a preferred holiday destination.

In November 2018, Tourism Malaysia organized a special familiarization trip for Iranian industry players and media to Desaru Coast, Johore.

Tourism Malaysia has a dedicated marketing representative stationed in Tehran to handle the promotion of Malaysia in this market. Malaysia’s Ambassador to Iran Dato Rustam bin Yahaya has also been instrumental in promoting Malaysia as a holiday destination for Iranians.

Currently, there are four weekly flights operated by Mahan Air from Iran to Malaysia offering 1,260 seats.

Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board or Tourism Malaysia is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia.

It focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia as a preferred tourism destination. It has emerged as a major player in the international tourism scene.

In 2017, Malaysia registered 25.9 million tourist arrivals, placing it among the major tourism destinations of the world.