Malaysia intensifies efforts to woo Indian tourists

NEW DELHI, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has stepped up its tourism promotion efforts in India as arrivals from this key South Asian market have shown an encouraging growth trend.

In the latest campaign to woo Indian visitors, 39 Malaysian exhibitors participated in the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) fair in the Greater Noida area near Delhi.

The exhibitors joining the Feb 22 to 24 event included tour operators, Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Tourism Selangor, Berjaya Hotels & Resorts and Legoland Malaysia Resort.

An eight-day Malaysian food festival was launched on Thursday at New Delhi's Hyatt Regency Hotel.

"Malaysia's policy of allowing visa-free entry to Indian passport holders this year remains a key focus of our intensified tourism promotion campaign," said Akmal Aziz, deputy director of Tourism Malaysia in New Delhi.

Earlier this month, Malaysia organised a week-long food and cultural festival and participated in the Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) show in Mumbai.

Tourism Malaysia held promotion events in the cities of Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad between Feb 11 and 19 to reinforce Malaysia's image as a leading holiday destination in Asia.

"Thousands of travel agents visited our stand at OTM and came to the roadshows this month," Akmal said.

Along with shopping, golfing and beach attractions, Malaysia is also promoting itself as a destination for weddings as many wealthy Indians pick scenic foreign locations for exchange vows.

Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air, AirAsia and IndiGo operate 181 flights offering 33,851 seats per week on the India route.

India is Malaysia's fifth largest source market, accounting for 587,703 visitors in the first 11 months of 2023.

Malaysia's total foreign tourist arrivals during the January-November period were 17.8 millions.

-- BERNAMA