Focus on domestic travel spots
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- Published on Wednesday, 03 September 2014 18:44
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Sail on: (From second left) Kho, Van Wormer and MATTA organising committee member Datuk M. Ali at the press conference to announce Costa Cruises as the official cruise partner for MATTA Fair 2014. The model on the left gives a peek at what the Carnival of Venice-themed cruises have to offer.
ALL eyes will be on Malaysia in the coming MATTA Fair happening from this Friday to Sunday at PWTC.
For the first time, the region’s biggest travel consumers’ event will feature a Malaysia Hall that will boast 95 exhibitors set to spoil visitors with various choices of local travel spots.
“MATTA Fair has long been projected as an international travel fair. This year, we’re making it different by giving more attention to domestic destinations,” said Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents honorary assistant secretary-general Rocky Kho.
Run by Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia Hall will occupy 1,000sq m, with 52 Matta member travel agents, 30 resorts and accommodations exhibitors, and 13 travel and amusement services operators setting up booths.
Speaking at a press conference, Tourism Malaysia domestic marketing division director Datuk Musa Yusof said the hall was named to showcase Malaysia’s very own products to its people.
He noted the importance of local support for local destinations as a great source of encouragement to the nation’s economy.
“The year 2013 recorded 54 million domestic visitors with RM35.6bil spent, as compared to 49.4mil visitors and RM31.1bil spent in 2012. It is a 14.5% increase,” said Musa, adding that the statistics looked to increase this year with the current positive movement in domestic tourist activity.
To shore up the numbers, Musa also said Tourism Malaysia booths will be providing value-added features including rebates, promotions and on-ground consumer engagement initiatives.
As this year is Visit Malaysia Year, Kho pointed out that the fair needs to do more than just attract visitors.
He said there would be the “Malaysia, My Dream Destination” contest with Tourism Malaysia, hourly lucky-draw sessions, as well as the Instagram Treasure Hunt where they would tap into the social media platform to gauge younger audiences.
The “Malaysia, My Dream Destination” contest involves three themes with specific travel budgets including Luxurious Malaysia at RM10,000, Adventurous Malaysia at RM5,000 and Wallet-Friendly Malaysia at RM2,000.
From the selected themes, contestants are to create a wishlist of their ideal holiday with itineraries that must meet the stipulated budget and comprise vacation packages offered by exhibitors at the fair.
One winner from each theme would be sent on an all-expenses paid trip based on their wishlist in addition to winning digital recording equipment worth RM4,000.
Information on all contests and activities is available at www.mattafair.org.my
On top of that, the entire fair will adopt a carnival atmosphere to add to the excitement.
This is also where Sunway Lagoon will have its spotlight.
As one of the core tenants at the fair, the popular tourist attraction will occupy 4,500 sq ft of the entire 4M level to showcase its five parks.
Fashioned in the form of an interactive walkthrough experience, the exhibition will take visitors through its Water Park, Amusement Park, Extreme Park, Wildlife Park and Scream Park.
“We jumped on the opportunity when Matta approached us, mainly because of the impending highlights that will take place for us.
“We are building a new Nickelodeon-themed park across 4ha of land that is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015,” said Sunway Lagoon general manager Sean SL Choo.
“The fully refurbished zoo will also be unveiled, introducing new attractions such as the White Lion, as well as the world’s smallest monkeys, among others,” he added.
Choo highlighted that Sunway Lagoon was delighted to work with Matta as they recognised the exposure that they would gain through the fair.
To further promote the destination, he added that visitors can expect discounts of up to 40%, one-for-one tickets at its “Nights of Fright” event, as well as giveaways worth RM20,000 daily at the three-day fair.
Meanwhile, visitors will also get the chance to sail the high seas with Costa Cruises as the Italian travel group has come onboard as the official cruise partner for MATTA Fair 2014.
Kho said that because of this, more cruise tours would be highlighted at the fair, including a cruises themed Carnival of Venice at Sea onboard the 75,200 tonne Costa Victoria.
“There is a misconception that cruises are an indulgence and very expensive. But, by bringing in partners such as Costa Cruises, we want to create awareness that it can be an exciting travel option without breaking the bank.
“During the upcoming fair, there will be also be attractive packages on offer, including those offering transportation from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, where the cruise will depart,” he said.
Costa Cruises sales director Stephen Daniel Van Wormer said the 2,394-capacity cruise ship would offer international-level entertainment.
“The Carnival of Venice-themed cruises cater to tourists across Asia, offering them an innovative and unique cruise holiday.
“We want to give guests a full experience of what the Carnival of Venice would feel like, from the food, costumes to the activities,” he said.
He added that Costa Victoria would take passengers on 16 trips starting from Nov 8 from Singapore.
“The cruise journeys vary from three to five nights to popular destinations such as Phuket in Thailand, as well as Malacca, Penang and Langkawi in Malaysia.
“Cruise fares start from US$199 (RM678) per person. Guests who register before Sept 30 can also enjoy promotions including free upgrades from Inside cabins to Oceanview cabins, a four-to-go special offer for booking Inside cabins and a 50% off offer for booking Balcony cabins on selected three-night trips.
“Children under 13 will also be able to enjoy a ‘kids cruise free’ offer,” Van Wormer said.
For more information, visit www.costacruisesasia.com.
In the last Matta fair in March, the exhibition recorded RM4.7mil in sales. According to Musa, the number is expected to increase by 5% to 8% this time.
“We are optimistic that we will reach more than what we targeted,” he expressed.