Shopping carnivals aim to boost tourism

Kuala Lumpur, July 6 (BNA): Malaysia, a country visited by 27.4 million tourists in 2014, has launched its biggest shopping extravaganza – the annual 1Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival and 1Malaysia Unified Sale. The sales events were launched by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Dr. Ong Hong Peng at a ceremony attended by officials and media crews from several Asian countries. Running for over two months until August 31, the two sales offer big bargains, huge discounts and promotional activities put together by malls, retail stalls and other participating trades throughout Malaysia. The sales have started at a time when Ramadan bazaars also sprout up all over the country, lending a dynamic fusion of colours to the local shopping scene. Street bazaars and shopping malls are also hyping up with numerous offers for the upcoming Hari Raya (Eid) celebrations. Prior to the launching ceremony the Director General of Tourism Malaysia Mirza Mohammad Taiyab delivered a presentation on Malaysia’s tourism industry and its latest developments. Representatives from KL City Grand Prix and Jump Street Asia shared their tourism products and attractions with the participants. Retail stalls and various trades in the country have put together a wide range of products and bargains under the 1Malaysia Unified Sale 2015, aimed at creating greater spill-over effects of consumer shopping and boosting trade and business transactions. Four days before the launch, 1,267 retailers signed up to take part in the 1Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival and 1Malaysia Unified Sale. Adding to both sales is the #beautifulMalaysia Online Contest open to participants from all over the world. Participants submit photos that best encapsulate the beauty of Malaysia in four categories, namely places, festivals, food and shopping. Photos can be uploaded on Instagram using the hashtag #beautifulMalaysia or directly on to the contest campaign website (www.tourism.gov.my/beautifulMalaysia). Winning photos will be featured on postcards at the end of the campaign. These postcards together with other specially designed postcards bearing the theme Beautiful Malaysia will be placed at selected airports in the country. The postcards will also be used to further promote 2015 as Malaysia Year of Festivals, or MyFest 2015. Various festivals and events happening in the country will be highlighted on the postcards. Besides the contest, two pocket events will also be held to coincide with the 1Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival 2015, namely the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week (KLFW) 2015 (August 12 – 16) and Time Kulture, a timepiece exhibition (July 29 – August 9). KLFW 2015 promotes local fashion designers and local brands, and creates opportunities for international recognition and further develops the Malaysian retail market for branded fashionable wear. To boost the country’s shopping sector, Tourism Malaysia has embarked on promoting Experiential Shopping packages with lifestyle elements, encompassing culinary delights, entertainment, and recreation for the whole family. Besides that, places of interest around the malls are also being highlighted in the packages. The 1Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival is one of three nationwide shopping campaigns. The other two are the 1Malaysia Grand Prix Sale in March and the 1Malaysia Year-End Sale from November 14 2015 to January 3 next year. Organised by Tourism Malaysia through its shopping promotion arm, Secretariat Shopping Malaysia, the three sales events have helped bring numerous benefits to the local retail sector and boost tourist expenditure in the country. MyFest 2015 is expected to help Malaysia achieve the targeted 29.4 million tourist arrivals and RM89 billion (BD 8.812 billion) in tourist receipts for 2015. These figures will help achieve the target of 36 million tourist arrivals with RM168 billion (BD 1.663 billion) in tourist receipts by 2020 under the Malaysia Tourism Transformation Plan. Tourist receipts for 2014 were RM72 billion (BD 7.12 billion) increase of 10% compared to RM65.4 billion (BD 6.475) in 2013. Malaysia’s shopping sector is a major contributor to the country’s tourist receipts, amounting to RM21.6 billion (BD 2.138 billion) or 30% of the total receipts of RM72 billion (BD 7.128 billion) in 2014, an increase of 9.3% compared to RM19.8 billion (BD 1.960 billion) in 2013. The shopping sector continues to hold the second biggest share of tourist expenditure after accommodation, higher only by 0.3%.