Anil (centre) hitting the gong to launch the Travel Mart. Also seen from left are Tan, Ajay, Sharzede and Zakaria.
KUCHING (Sept 23): More than 100 sellers from Malaysia and more than 400 buyers from India have participated in the Malaysia Travel Mart programme here.
It was held in conjunction with the three-day Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) Convention 2022, which ends today (Sept 23), at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching.
The programme, hosted by Tourism Malaysia, is a Business to Business Session (B2B) between Indian buyers with Malaysian sellers who took part to woo potential new clientele.
Among the Malaysian sellers were 33 travel agents, 17 product owners, 37 hotels and resorts, one airline, seven hospitality-related associations and six state representatives.
Tourism Malaysia deputy chairman Dato’ Sri Dr Anil Jeet Singh Sandhu said Sarawak was chosen for the programme as it was a relatively unexplored destination for Indian travelers, adding that the state was an excellent venue for destination weddings, family travel and corporate events.
“This is the opportunity for our industry players to meet our Indian counterparts to network and strengthen our tourism relations besides promoting our latest tourism products and packages.
“Indeed, we hope these initiatives will help boost Indian tourist arrivals and indirectly benefit both countries’ tourism industry and the nation’s economy,” Anil said in his launching speech.
At a press conference later, Anil said the number of arrivals from India currently ranked fourth for Malaysia, while fifth for Sarawak.
“Hopefully, we can reach 40 to 50 per cent, so that is why there is a collaboration with Tourism Malaysia and Sarawak Tourism Board to make it happen,” he said.
The Indian market contributed 735,309 arrivals or 22 per cent of total arrivals in Malaysia in 2019.
Also present at the programme was TAFI president Ajay Prakash, Malaysia Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang, STB chief executive officer Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor, and Tourism Malaysia corporate communication division Zakaria Nani.