MADRID, Jan 23 (Bernama) -- FITUR, one of the biggest tourism fairs in the world and no.1 in Iberian peninsula, welcomed Malaysian delegation to make way for launching of Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM2020) in the Spanish soil.

Leading the Malaysian delegation at FITUR 2020 is the Dato’ Dr Noor Zari bin Hamat, Secretary General of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, accompanied by Datuk Musa Yusof, Director General of Tourism Malaysia.

Together in the delegation include Mr. Libra Lee Haniff, Director of Tourism Malaysia Paris, and Malaysian sellers Malai Adventure, Bamboo Adventure, Kowamas Holidays, Look Asia Travel, Vive Malasia, Azul Marino Club, Lexitours and Turismo Asiatico and State Tourism Office of Selangor.

FITUR 2020 opens the Tourism Malaysia’s promotion calendar in Europe with the launching of VM2020 campaign, which focuses on ecotourism, arts and culture, in line with the National Ecotourism Plan 2016-2025 and the National Culture Policy.

VM2020 harnesses the power of digital technology, social media platforms with user-generated contents and promotes collaborative partnerships with global tourism suppliers. With the launch of vm2020.malaysia.travel, Malaysia is well on the way making digital technology at the forefront of smart tourism initiatives, for a more customized travel experience targeting the millennial, world’s largest travelling generation today.

“Sustainable tourism is the focus for Visit Malaysia 2020. Apart from nature and the richness of our bio-diversity, our country is intricately woven with a colourful mix of people. We are a multi-cultural community, who loves sharing with visitors so they can experience and discover our way of life,” said Dato’ Dr Noor Zari.

From January to September 2019, total visitor arrivals to Malaysia was 20,109,203 an increase of 3.7% during the same period in 2018. The Spanish arrivals recorded a positive 22.3% growth of 35,149 tourists in 2017 to 42,267 in 2018.

“We have an extensive marketing strategy in place for Visit Malaysia 2020 and we are optimistic to achieve our goal to welcome 30 million visitors, while from the Spanish market we target 46,000 visitors,” added Datuk Musa Yusof, Director General of Tourism Malaysia.

FITUR 2020 will witness the launching of VM2020 packages by CATAI VIAJES, as well as cooperations with other operators and airlines namely VIVE Malaysia, TUI SPAIN, TUI IBERIA along with Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Singapore Airlines.

Malaysian booth is located at the Pavilion 6 – Stand 6F02, during the 5-day fair in IFEMA Madrid.

For more media releases, media info and media features on Malaysia’s tourism industry, kindly visit the Media Centre of Tourism Malaysia’s website at http://www.tourism.gov.my/

MALAYSIA TOURISM PROMOTION BOARD OR TOURISM MALAYSIA is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia. It focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia as a preferred tourism destination. Since its inception, it has emerged as a major player in the international tourism scene. In 2018, Malaysia registered 25.8 million tourist arrivals and RM84.1 billion tourist receipts, placing it among the major tourism destinations of the world.

SOURCE: Tourism Malaysia

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 
Press information:
Name: Mr Muadz Samat
Assistant Director, Corporate Communication Division,
Tel: +603 8891 8755
Email: muadz@tourism.gov.my

FITUR information:
Name: Ms Sharifah Hafsya Syed Yaziz
Tel: +603 8891 8363
Email: syarifahhafsya@tourism.gov.my

Name:Mr Mohd Libra Lee Haniff
Director TM Paris
Tel: ++33 1 42 97 41 71
Email: mohdlibra@tourism.gov.my

Name: Ms Adlina Borhan
Ab & Artho
Tel: ++33 6 16 72 47 79
Email: adlina@abartho.com 

VM2020 Official Website - http://vm2020.malaysia.travel

Official Tourism Malaysia Website - https://www.tourism.gov.my/

--BERNAMA