Tourism Malaysia Expands China Sales Mission To Four More Cities

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 (Bernama) — Tourism Malaysia continues with its second sales mission to China this year across four main cities from 3^rd to 9^th September 2023. The sales mission kicks off in the city of Changsha, followed by Chengdu, Lanzhou, and Xi’an.
 
The mission is headed by The Honourable Mr. Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. The Malaysian delegation that participated in the sales mission comprises 58 organizations which include hotels and resorts, travel agents, tourism product owners, Malaysia-based airlines and a state tourism board representative.  
 
The second series of Tourism Malaysia’s sales mission to China is a continuation of the line-up of promotional programmes for the China market in 2023. Tourism Malaysia first initiated its sales mission to China shortly after the country’s international border reopening in February. The first sales mission took place from 6^th to 15^th April 2023, covering Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, and Xiamen.
 
“Apart from cultivating confidence in Chinese visitors to return to Malaysia, we hope that this sales mission provides a platform for the industry community to gather, exchange ideas, and return even stronger. We are always exploring further collaborations to bring more visitors to enjoy Malaysia’s wonders and delights,” says the Honourable Mr. Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.           
 
In gearing up for the next Visit Malaysia Year set in 2026, through this sales mission, Tourism Malaysia aims to strengthen its marketing efforts in China through business sessions, seminars, networking, and emphasising promotions on the leisure market and niche segments, especially the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme. 

China remains one of the top market sources for Malaysia and contributed 211,363 arrivals to the country last year. For January to May 2023, Malaysia received as many as 403,121 Chinese tourists, compared to 21,613 (+907.2%) in the same period last year. 
 
Through its overseas offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Tourism Malaysia continues to intensify promotions alongside travel agents and airlines. With the resumption and announcement of new international routes from Malaysia-based airlines and China-based airlines such as Xiamen Air, and Air China, there are currently 214 flights per week between China and Malaysia.