Tourism Malaysia, in collaboration with Tourism Selangor, has organized a business-to-business (B2B) session called “Meet The Experts” aimed at establishing partnerships and developing attractive travel packages for tourists from Singapore.
The session, held from 16 to 19 May 2023, brought together travel agents and media from Singapore for a 4D/3N familiarization trip to various destinations in Selangor. This initiative aims to boost industry engagement, foster business opportunities, and highlight Malaysia as an exciting and value-for-money destination.
The “Meet The Experts” program provided a platform for 25 travel agents and four media representatives from Singapore to meet with local representatives, including travel agents, tourism products, and hoteliers from Selangor.
The B2B session, held at Le Meridien Hotel in Petaling Jaya, aimed to establish new or renewed contracts, exchange product updates, and foster mutual understanding in developing travel packages with attractive prices dedicated to tourists from Singapore.
Strengthening industry engagement and friendship
The collaboration between Singapore and Selangor industry players has been strong over the years, even during the pre-pandemic period. This partnership is expected to further enhance tourism industry engagement, and business opportunities, and foster good friendships.
The familiarization trip provided an opportunity to showcase Malaysia’s unique tourism product offerings to the Singapore market, reinforcing the value and appeal of Malaysia as a travel destination.
During the B2B session, participants had the chance to discover and explore unique tourism product offerings in Selangor.
The trip highlighted opportunities in agro-tourism, unforgettable homestay experiences, a variety of food options, rich cultural heritage, historical sites, traditional activities, exciting countryside cycling tours, and Instagrammable hipster locations.
These experiences catered to both leisure travellers and those seeking off-the-beaten-path adventures.
Malaysia targeting Singapore’s tourism market
Singapore remains a significant market for Malaysia in terms of tourist arrivals and receipts. The country has already surpassed its initial target of attracting 9.2 million international tourists since reopening its international borders in 2022.
In 2022 alone, Malaysia welcomed 5,222,991 tourist arrivals from Singapore, contributing significantly to the tourism industry. As tourists increasingly seek value-for-money experiences closer to home, Tourism Malaysia aims to rebound the Singapore market to its pre-pandemic level.
With the goal of further boosting the tourism industry, Malaysia aims to attract 16.1 million international tourist arrivals and generate RM26.8 billion in tourism receipts this year.
The focus on creating attractive travel packages and fostering partnerships with key markets like Singapore will play a crucial role in achieving these targets.
The value-for-money experiences, diverse offerings, and strong industry collaboration position Malaysia as an appealing destination for international tourists.
With a focus on establishing partnerships, developing attractive travel packages, and highlighting value-for-money experiences, Malaysia aims to attract a significant number of tourists from Singapore and achieve its tourism targets for the year.