Destination Malaysia
All-out efforts for a good show
Inbound players are optimistic that Malaysia’s increased exposure will deliver more opportunities. By S Puvaneswary
Wayang kulit, a traditional shadow puppet show in Malaysia
W
ith Malaysia being the
partner country for ITB
Berlin 2019, the launch of
a new marketing campaign
and a bigger-than-usual seller contingent,
expectations are high that the destination
will benefit from the greater exposure at
this year’s show.
Zulkafli Yahya, senior director, inter-
national promotion division (Americas/
Europe/Oceania) with Tourism Malaysia,
said: “We hope our participation as ITB’s
partner country will generate further
tourist interest in Malaysia from Europe,
especially Germany and its surrounding
countries.”
As well, Tourism Malaysia will launch
the new Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign for
the Europe market at ITB Berlin, as part
of its strategy to “hard-sell” the country
this year rather than “creating awareness”
of the destination, shared Zulkafli.
Having generated sales and contracts
value of about RM138.2 million (US$33.5
What’s new
The Rift
The Rift in Kuala Lumpur is touted to be
the first and largest augmented reality and
virtual reality adventure park in South-east
Asia. Housed within the Mid Valley Mega-
mall in Kuala Lumpur, the 3,700m 2 Rift
showcases more than a dozen attractions
and boasts a total of 25 virtual worlds along
with augmented reality and physical activity
attractions.
million) at ITB Berlin 2017, Zulkafli re-
vealed that Tourism Malaysia is now tar-
geting a higher ROI of RM325 million
from this year’s edition.
In a show of support, the Malaysian
Association of Tour and Travel Agents
(MATTA) will be participating in ITB
Berlin with Tourism Malaysia. There will
be 30 inbound agents attending, up from
20 last year.
“More participating agents mean more
products and new packages – ranging
from ecotourism, culture, heritage and
rural tourism – will be showcased,” said
KL Tan, president, MATTA.
The “greater exposure” expected from
the combined efforts of Malaysia being
the partner country of ITB Berlin and
a large Malaysian presence at this show
is what led Urban Rhythms Tours, Ad-
venture and Travel to participate in ITB
Berlin 2019, the company’s director Nigel
Wong told the Daily.
Manfred Kurz, managing director,
Diethelm Travel Malaysia, opined that
being the partner country of ITB Berlin
2019 will help Malaysia generate more
awareness among Europe’s key decision-
makers attending the show.
“Post ITB, the government has to keep
the momentum going by organising fam
trips for agents and media, and get the lo-
cal private sector to assist,” he urged.
Meanwhile, positive developments in
the industry are boding well for Malay-
sia’s strengthening appeal among Euro-
pean travellers.
Kurz pointed out that the thrice-
weekly Frankfurt-Kuala Lumpur service
launched by Condor Air in November
2018 has gained traction, being the only
direct connection from Germany.
“With this new air connection, we
started offering new packages and prod-
ucts for the middle-class market from
Europe, in addition to (packages for) the
higher-income brackets which include
more three and four-star accommoda-
tion,” he said.
A rising trend among German-
speaking markets in recent years, noted
Kurz, is the growing demand for CSR
programmes, which have traditionally
appealed more to European MICE
groups.
“In order to cater to the growing in-
terest in CSR programmes from the FIT
segment, we will work with established
tour operators in Germany to promote
more (programmes that revolve around)
The Rainbow Skywalk at The Top
eral days each month before being submerged
underwater for the remaining days. This spot
only surfaces twice each month – during the
first and 15 th of lunar month, and four days
before and after the dates, when sea levels
are low. Located in Kuala Selangor, Sky Mirror
is also home to a multitude of marine life.
Cessna Caravan Ex flight
This aircraft offers a bird’s eye-view of the
exotic sights and colours of the 99 islands
The Rainbow Skywalk at The Top
of Langkawi. The Cessna Caravan Ex aircraft
Perched 249m above ground on The Top in can accommodate up to 10 people, and
Komtar, the tallest building in George Town, departs from Langkawi International Airport
The Rainbow Skywalk offers panoramic
at 14.00 every day. The half-hour flight costs
views of Penang’s capital while a glass-bot- between RM330 (US$79) per person for 10
tomed walkway offers visitors the thrilling
guests per flight to RM660 per person for
experience of walking on air and looking
four guests per flight.
down on the rooftops and the roads below.
W Kuala Lumpur
Sky Mirror
The first W hotel in Malaysia features 150
Named after its mirror-like reflection of the guest rooms and suites, including two Wow
sky, this mystery island will emerge for sev- suites and the Extreme Wow Suite, measuring
over 520m 2 . F&B concepts include contempo-
rary Cantonese restaurant Yen; all-day dining
restaurant Flock; Woobar; and the Wet Deck
pool bar.
Mövenpick Hotel & Convention
Centre KLIA
Located just a few minutes from KLIA
and KLIA2, this hotel features 333