SYDNEY: Tourism Malaysia here has moved to a new premises to cope with the increasing popularity of Malaysia as a holiday destination.
Its director, Mohd Roslan Abdullah, said the new office in busy Castelereagh Street would provide more space for meetings and tourism activities.
“Australia has always been an important source market for inbound tourists to Malaysia, so it is only natural for us to intensify our promotional efforts here to ensure the continuous growth for this market,” he said at the opening ceremony here yesterday.
Also present were Australian travel agents and tour operators.
Mohd Roslan said Australia accounted for over 500,000 visitors to Malaysia last year, making it Malaysia’s eight strongest market.
For the six months to June this year, there had been an increase of 20 per cent, compared with the same period last year.
“To further capitalise on Australia’s outbound travel and to tap the massive potential that this market presents, we have embarked on a more focused and concerted effort,” he said.
He said with 2015 being declared Malaysia’s Year of Festivals, it was expected that the tourist traffic to Malaysia would get a boost.
Tourism Malaysia’s director in Perth, Kamilia Hani Abdul Halim, told Bernama that business was picking up after a downturn triggered by the MH370 and MH170 tragedies.
“The signs are encouraging and we should see tourist numbers back to normal soon,” she said.
Kamilia said people in Western Australia found it convenient to spend a few days in either Malaysia or Bali which was under four hours of flying time. — Bernama