Choo (second left), accompanied by his deputy Mok Venia (second right), committee members Jennifer Chai (left) and Lily Thu, addresses the press conference.
KUCHING (July 5): The Sarawak Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Travel Fair is making a comeback next month after an absence of two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 16th Sarawak Matta travel fair will be held on Aug 6 and 7 (Saturday and Sunday) concurrently at Boulevard Shopping Mall in Kuching and Permaisuri Imperial City Mall in Miri, featuring about 48 booths and 20 booths respectively.
“Sarawak’s Matta Fair will serve as a one-stop platform for consumers to easily choose their dream holiday destinations with the myriad of packages offered by our credible licensed tour operators,” said Matta Sarawak chapter chairman Oscar Choo during a press conference at their office yesterday.
With reports of tourism packages scams in Peninsular Malaysia, he said the objective of the travel fair was to offer peace of mind for consumers purchasing travel packages from legitimate tour operators overseen by the Matta Sarawak chapter.
Choo said both inbound and outbound travel packages will be offered at the two-day travel fair, as well as short getaway holidays to neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and even Australia.
The chairman highlighted that flight connectivity had always been an issue for travelling globally for the past two years but he commended the government’s initiative now for further increasing the frequency of flights.
“With flights coming in and good flight connectivity across the globe, our Matta members are able to plan much better tourism products and packages for the consumers,” said Choo.
Many European and Western destinations are also now available for travels.
Visitors to the travel fair are expected to be greeted with an abundance of promotions, ranging from cruise packages, and great airline and accommodation deals.
Moreover, Choo said the Sarawak Matta Travel Fair 2022 provides the unique personal touch and customer service to assist consumers in planning their dream vacations.
“Matta is committed to make this event a great success in line with their role as a catalyst to steer the momentum of growth in the hospitality and tourism industry in the country.”
He said the travel fair also supported the government’s vision to create more job opportunities, expand market reach and generate more tourist arrivals.
Besides, Choo said the Sarawak chapter aspired to support their 121 members in getting back to their feet after two years of pandemic, as about 10 per cent of their members were no longer active.
“The Sarawak Matta Travel Fair 2022 is expected to foster and enhance networking, goodwill and fellowship among all the travel trade and tourism industry.”
He also said there will be lucky draws sponsored by various participating organisations during the two-day travel fair.
Admission is free and the fair will be from 10am to 9pm. For more information, members of the public can contact Matta Sarawak secretariat on 082-555853 (Ms Maha).