Malaysia woos Punjabi tourists with shopping extravaganza

By IANS,

Chandigarh : Eyeing the rich Punjabi travellers, Tourism Malaysia Monday here announced its “Best of Malaysia – Mega Sale Travel Package”.


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The package involves holiday options at Kuala Lumpur and Penang cities and coincides with the ongoing mega sale carnival in Malaysia themed as “eat, shop and rejuvenate” – that is on till Sep 31.

“Punjab is an important market for us, contributing a share of over 15 percent to the arrival of tourists from north India region in 2007,” Amirul Ariffin, director of Tourism Malaysia, told IANS.

“To attract more tourists from this region we are collaborating with some travel agents in Punjab and are planning to position our offerings like mega sale, weddings in Malaysia, and eco-package in different cities in Punjab.”

Ariffin said 12 couples from India last year went to Malaysia to avail the urban Indian wedding offer.

Star hotels in Malaysia were very economical if compared with their Indian counterparts. For a wedding, a five star hotel in Goa costs $400 per person while in Malaysia it is at only $100, he added.

Tourism Malaysia, a semi-government body, offers different packages ranging from Rs.28,999 to Rs.33,499 depending on the number of days and cities visited in the country. To and fro air tickets, meals, boarding and lodging are all inclusive in the package.

“All the travellers will be given Malaysia mega sale carnival tourist privilege card to gain the discount of 10 to 70 percent on an assortment of branded items,” said Ariffin.

This year Tourism Malaysia is targeting half a million Indians to visit Malaysia while 422,000 Indians visited the country in 2007.

“Our focus is to explore new tourist destinations beyond Kuala Lumpur and position the novel gateways to beautiful cities like Penang, Sabah, Sarawak and Pangkor Island in Malaysia,” Ariffin said.

This year between January to June, 292,850 Indian travellers visited Malaysia, registering an increase of 26.6 percent as compared to last year’s arrivals for the corresponding period.

To woo the Indian tourists, Tourism Malaysia has a tie up with various hotels and service providers. They have already fixed the most economical price that they will charge to Indian customers.

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