Creating Brand Awareness Can Make Malaysia More Attractive As Tourist Destination

By Manik Mehta FRANKFURT, April 20 (Bernama) -- While Malaysia has many attractive attributes as a tourist destination, the country’s image abroad can be enhanced by creating brand awareness. German tour operators who offer Malaysia in their tour programmes are upbeat about the attractiveness of the country for German tourists, but want the country to be as well-known as Thailand and Bali. Creating brand awareness could be the mantra to further improve its tourism profile, says a German tour operator that sell tour packages for destinations in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Airways Travel GmbH, a Frankfurt-based travel and tour operator, sells customised tour packages for several Asian countries, including Malaysia, to German and other German-speaking nationalities such as Swiss and Austrians. In an interview with Bernama, Juergen Anding, Airways Travel’s Marketing and Product Manager said Malaysia could attract greater tourism particularly from Germany, Switzerland and Austria, by having a public information campaign. "Despite its picturesque landscape, pristine sea waters and white sandy beaches, along with natural beauty and cultural diversity, Malaysia is, unfortunately, not that well known as other destinations in the region. "If its image can be polished, it could become one of the great tourist destinations. Besides catering to German, Swiss and Austrian nationals, we also offer packages to Malaysians living in Germany. "Unlike other Westerners, German tourists prefer to travel individually rather than in groups. We have contacts with some 250 hotels in Malaysia. Most of our tours are organised with Malaysia Airlines which operates five flights a week to Frankfurt," he added. Anding discerns a shift in the preferences of the average German tourist who in the past could not resist sun and beaches but now is more inclined towards nature and culture. While many Germans still visit Langkawi island in Kedah state, they also seek nature and culture in places such as the east Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak and have expressed the need to have German-speaking tourist guides. "If Malaysia can provide German-speaking guides, it can attract much greater traffic from Germany and other German-speaking countries. "Though English is spoken by many Germans, there are also those who do not understand English enough and would feel much more comfortable with German-speaking tourist guides," he added. -- BERNAMA