HELSINKI, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- Tourism Malaysia returns to participate in this year’s MATKA Travel Fair, held at Messukeskus, Helsinki from 18th to 21st January 2024.

Aimed to highlight Malaysia's ecotourism and sustainable tourism efforts, Tourism Malaysia is led by Ms. Azimah Aziz, the Deputy Director of Tourism Malaysia’s International Promotion Division (America, Europe & Oceania). Joining the delegation are Sarawak Tourism Board, Sabah Tourism Board, and Langkawi Development Authority, equipped with their new experiential tourism products and packages that centre around Malaysia’s unique biodiversity at Stand 7h128.

Among the new products and packages featured include the Langkawi Geopark Green Package, Malaysia Archeotourism and Geotourism packages, Perlis Ecotourism packages, Endau Rompin National Park, Kinabalu UNESCO Global Geopark, and Sarawak Delta National Geopark.

In addition, a special cultural troupe brought by Sarawak Tourism Board will be performing twice daily, showcasing the traditional Sarawakian dances and local musical instruments such as sape (string instrument) and nose flute. A cooking demo and food sampling will also take place at the stand from the 19th to the 21st of January to introduce Malaysian delicacies to the visitors.

Tourism Malaysia is very optimistic about this year’s participation as MATKA offers a prime opportunity to introduce Malaysian tourism attractions that align with the interests of Nordic travellers; this year's special showcase allows the world to witness Malaysia’s breathtaking natural wonders, multi-ethnic cultural heritage, sustainable community-based tourism, and culinary delights that promise an extraordinary experiential journey.

Malaysia is expected to welcome more than 8,100 Finnish arrivals by the end of 2023, increasing tremendously compared to the 4,091 recorded in 2022. Following a remarkable increase in mid-year 2023, Malaysia has revised its full-year international tourist forecast upwards by 18.63% to 19.1 million. 

The next Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) has been set for 2026, and the government has targeted 35.6 million foreign tourist arrivals, including from the Nordic market.

About Tourism Malaysia

Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, also known as 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.

The next Visit Malaysia Year, set to take place in 2026, will commemorate the sustainability of the nation's tourism industry, which is also in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).

Furthermore, Tourism Malaysia actively endorses the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), working towards the realisation of the IMT-GT Visiting Year 2023-2025, with the shared aim of promoting the region as a unified tourism destination. For more information, visit Tourism Malaysia’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.

SOURCE: Tourism Malaysia

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 
Name: Sharifah Hafsya Syed Yaziz
Tel: +603 8891 8367
Email: sharifahhafsya@tourism.gov.my

Name: Muadz Samat
Tel: +603 8891 8755
Email: muadz@tourism.gov.my

--BERNAMA