More travel bargains at Matta fairs this year

Ngiam Foon says domestic tourism is a big contributor to the tourism industry

Malaysians and foreigners alike will enjoy even more travel bargains this year at the 12 Matta fairs the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) has planned.

State Matta chapters have been roped in to hold travel fairs in their states, in addition to the grand fairs in March and October.

With 85,000 visitors and an expected sales turnover of RM85 million this year, Matta president Ngiam Foon said the Matta Fair is big business for the domestic travel industry.

"Many have the impression Matta Fairs are more about outbound travel, but domestic tourism is a big contributor to the tourism industry."

Last year, the domestic tourism key performance indicator showed that local hotels enjoyed a considerable growth in the number of room nights booked.
"We've had over 30 million room nights booked in the last two years, and this is an encouraging trend," said Ngiam.

The states holding a fair this year are Selangor (next month), Perak (March), Pahang (April), Negri Sembilan and Penang (July) and Malacca and Johor (August).

Also on the list are Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak, but the state offices have yet to confirm the dates for the respective fairs.

The March fair will be held from March 14-16, while the September fair has been postponed to Oct 10-12 in view of the fasting month.

Tourism Malaysia, the biggest exhibitor this year, will mainly feature the attractions in Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan as these states are shortlisted in the "must visit places" on the tourism calendar.

"This year is Visit Kedah Year, Visit Kelantan Year and Visit Terengganu Year," said Tourism Malaysia domestic promotions division director Datuk Idros Mohd.

Source : NST
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