SHANGHAI, 14 September 2023 – As part of its continuous efforts to promote Malaysia as a preferred tourist destination to the travel industry players in China, Tourism Malaysia today launched its booth at the ITB China 2023 travel tradeshow at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center, taking place from 12th to 14th September 2023.
The Malaysian delegation is headed by the Senior Director of International Promotions (Asia/Africa) Division (covering Deputy Director General Planning), Mr Manoharan Periasamy. Tourism Malaysia is joined by two important partners from the states which are Penang Global Tourism and Sarawak Tourism Board. There are a total of 35 organisations which comprise 15 tour operators, 10 hotels and resorts, two (2) state tourism agencies, three (3) tourism associations, two (2) product owners, two (2) airlines and one (1) tourism-related services.
ITB China is the leading B2B-exclusive trade show focused on the Chinese Travel Market, with selected buyers from the Greater China area. This is the third time Malaysia has participated since the show’s inception in 2017. With the opening of the China borders in February 2023, Tourism Malaysia sees the show as a suitable platform for industry players to meet and plan their business strategies for the coming years.
Commenting on the participation, Mr Manoharan Periasamy said, “ITB China is the biggest travel trade show in China and Malaysia is excited to be part of the show again. We are committed to demonstrating Malaysia’s presence in the China market and our readiness to welcome more Chinese tourists to Malaysia. Our co-exhibitors will definitely leverage the pre-scheduled appointments and networking sessions to establish deeper cooperation and garner more business opportunities.”
“China is one of Penang’s most important markets and it has always been one of the top three arrival countries in Penang. It is crucial to keep the publicity momentum going to draw travellers to Penang, thus Penang Global Tourism has organised the ‘Experience Penang’ roadshow in Guangzhou and Shenzhen which resulted in the increase of flight frequency from China. We hope our presence in ITB China with Penang industry partners will showcase the versatility of Penang being a world-class destination,” said YB Wong Hong Wai, Penang State EXCO for Tourism & Creative
Economy.
“We are thrilled to be back to a fully physical ITB China this year and to be able to meet up and revitalise relationships with new and established China travel agents. With borders now fully open, we look forward to creating more opportunities for Chinese visitors to come to Sarawak to enjoy our variety of Culture, Adventure, Nature, Food and Festival offerings available at all our gateways of Kuching, Sibu and Miri,” said Mr Suriya Charles Buas, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Integrated Marketing & Communication Sarawak Tourism Board.
China remains one of the top market sources for Malaysia and contributed 211,363 arrivals to the country last year. Up to the month of May 2023, Malaysia received 403,121 Chinese tourists, compared to 21,613 (+907.2%) in the same period last year. Malaysia is currently targeting to receive 16.1 million international tourist arrivals with RM49.2 billion in tourism receipts, with 5 million arrivals targeted to be from the Chinese market.
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 Air China, Spring Airlines and Xiamen Air there are currently 217 flights per week between China and Malaysia.
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