NEWS 7 Malaysia
NEWS 7 Malaysia Perfectly Poised For 2020 Travel Boom Dato Sri Abdul Khani Daud Deputy Director General of Tourism Malaysia ITB BERLIN BACKS MEDICAL TOURISM GROWTH © Messe Berlin GmbH The Malaysian Tourism industry has been out in force at ITB Berlin 2018, according to Dato Sri Abdul Khani Daud, deputy director general (promotion) at Tourism Malaysia. Speaking at a Malaysia-themed press conference which was graced by a traditional dancing performance, he said there were 152 Malaysian participants at ITB 2018 from 74 organisations, representing sectors such as hotels, airlines and tour operators. Malaysia is putting maximum effort into wooing visitors as it gears up for Visit Malaysia 2020. Dato Khani said Malaysia is looking forward to being ITB Berlin’s Official Partner country BARRIER-FREE ADVENTURE IN THE BLACK FOREST eMove is at ITB Berlin presenting an extraordinary new concept for adventure travel open to all, with tours of the Black Forest using Ziesel caterpillar-based machines. With the trade-mark of Schwartzwald Idylle, these new machines propel the rider through the forest with 500 Nm of torque, similar to a Porsche 911 up to next year, observing that ITB Berlin is “an excellent platform for making new announcements to the tourism industry”. Dato Khani cited a number of factors that are helping Malaysia boost its profile as a tourism destination. These include more new hotels, additional cruise programmes from Thomson and a direct Condor flight route linking Frankfurt and Kuala Lumpur, which will open in November 2018. Joining Dato Khani at the press conference, Condor commercial director Jens Boyd said: “Malaysia is underserved by flights from Germany, so we are happy to fill that gap. With its heritage, beaches, food, service 40 km/h, but with zero emissions, as they are all electric. Safety is a prime concern, and the Ziesel, designed and built in Austria, is able to take a 60% gradient without toppling, while the rider is securely strapped into the bucket seat. D “I saw the Ziesel on TV, and as I was already making Segway culture and safety, Malaysia has everything you look for.” Another important development, said Dato Khani, is that Malaysia is ECTAA’s Preferred Destination for 2018. This means that the European travel agent and tour operator Association will cooperate closely with Tourism Malaysia to boost European outbound tourism to Malaysia in 2018. All told, 70,000 travel agents and tour operators will be highlighting the diversity of the Southeast Asian country’s travel and tourism products. Malaysia hopes to attract 36 million guests in 2020, but is also targeting niche segments of the travel market. It has become a popular healthcare tourism destination and is also attracting the retirement market, thanks to its flexible MM2H visa. The press conference also included presentations about the state of Selangor and the enchanting islands of Langkawi Hall 26.a / Stand 117 tours, and it’s like a quad tour 2.0! We are making safaris in the Black Forest that last one to two hours, including a meal. It’s a really great experience – also for people who are physically handicapped”, says company owner Eric Bayer. While electric wheelchairs have been around for some time, they can’t get to where the Ziesel can go. “It’s a really cool experience. We’ve had some handicapped people who said it’s a great new concept for them. The tours operate in all seasons – through the snow or in the spring or summer when the scents of the forest are wonderful” Hall 6.1 / Stand 202 Rika Jean-Francois CSR Commissioner, ITB Berlin Medical tourism is a booming business, worth around bn a year according to a report by Visa and Oxford Economics. So it’s no surprise that it is also a fast-growing segment at ITB Berlin, relocating to a larger hall for 2018. Speaking to international journalists at the first-ever Medical Media Lunch, ITB Berlin CSR Commissioner Rika Jean- Francois said the sector’s growth is driven by “people looking for affordable, high quality healthcare which may not be available in their own market. And if they can find it in an attractive destination then it just helps sweeten the recovery process.” The medical media lunch took place in the Medical Tourism Pavilion, whose official partner this year is the Health Tourism Industry Conference. Exhibitors from markets including Germany, Turkey, Italy, Jordan provided insights into the subject and are also delivering thought-provoking presentation programme across the course of ITB Berlin 2018 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Friday 9 th March 2018
