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Thursday, April 21, 2022

Tourism Malaysia Targets Tourists From India After Borders Reopen


By Anthony Tan
VIRGIN Communications
email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk 


As of March 27, 2022, India has opened its sky for regular international flight operations while Malaysia reopened its borders effective April 1. 

Tourism Malaysia was quick to seize the opportunity to initiate its marketing and promotional roadshow to six cities in India from April 17 to 30. 


Led by Manoharan Periasamy (Picture Left), Tourism Malaysia Senior Director of the International Promotion Division (South Asia & Africa), the roadshow kick-started with New Delhi. 

It will be followed by Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai. India, being a top source market for Malaysia, contributed 735,309 tourist arrivals in 2019. 

Currently, there are over 14,000 seats available weekly between India and Malaysia through Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air, AirAsia, IndiGo and Air India Express. Flights between the two countries has now reached 76 per week compared with about 200 flights weekly before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Manoharan, a veteran in the Indian outbound market, remarks, “This is the right time to be back in India. Planning for this roadshow is very opportune. The resumption of scheduled international flights from India coincided with the reopening of Malaysia’s international borders.

“We are thrilled to welcome the Indian travellers back to our shores as we have many exciting, new value-driven and action-packed itineraries.

“There is so much to explore after two years, especially with the newly opened outdoor theme park, Genting SkyWorld in Pahang and the refurbished Sunway Resort in Kuala Lumpur.”

Group photo of some members of the delegation
Photo credit to MATTA member

Besides instilling confidence among the Indian travellers that it is safe to visit Malaysia, another objective of the roadshow is to provide a platform for its local industry players to bounce back and recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Those participating in the roadshow comprised 22 travel agents specialising in inbound tourists from India, four hoteliers, four product owners and three Malaysia-based airlines. See the list below. 

Tourism Malaysia targets to attract two million international tourist arrivals and RM6.8 billion in tourism receipts for 2022.


Malaysia is now open for quarantine-free travel for fully-vaccinated international tourists. Those from India can apply for Malaysia’s eVISA online.

Among the standard operating procedures for travelling to Malaysia are they are required to take a RT-PCR test two days before their departure to Malaysia. Upon their arrival, they must undergo a professionally administered RTK-Antigen test within 24 hours. 


PARTICIPANTS IN THE ROADSHOW TO INDIA

Travel agencies 
Asia Region Holidays Sdn Bhd
Asian Season Travel Sdn Bhd
Asian Famous Tours & Travels
Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel Sdn Bhd
Asian World Holidays Sdn Bhd
Azuki Tours Sdn Bhd
Bary Tours Sdn Bhd
Bel Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd
D’Mart Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd
Destination Explore Sdn Bhd
Devoyager Global Tours Sdn Bhd
Eco Coach & Tours (M) Sdn
Exotic Asia Holidays Travel Tours Sdn Bhd
Friendly Vacations Sdn.Bhd and Travel DMC Group
Hibiscus Travel & Tours Sdn
One Holidays Above Sdn Bhd
RV Holidays Sdn Bhd
The Traveller Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Taj Tours (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
Tourland Travel Sdn Bhd
U2 Travels and Tours Sdn Bhd
United Travels & Tours Sdn

Hotels/Resorts
Hospitality 360 Sdn Bhd
Sunway City Kuala Lumpur Hotels
Lexis Hotels & Resorts
Shangri-La Group

Tourism Products & Attractions 
Resorts World Genting
Sunway Lagoon Sdn Bhd
Legoland Malaysia Resort
Desaru Coast

Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Malindo Air
AirAsia

Others
Webbeds
























Thursday, April 14, 2022

Rainforest World Music Festival Of Sarawak Returns In June 2022


By Anthony Tan
VIRGIN Communications
email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

Are you ready to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the award-winning Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) from 17-19 June after the physical event has been put on hold over the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

RWMF, with its humble beginnings in 1998, attracted a small crowd of about 300 music enthusiasts but at its last count of in 2019 before the Covid-19 lockdown, this event had over 20,000 people attending it. 

Many of its fans will be delighted to welcome back RWMF 2022, themed the “Legendary Rainforest Celebration” by its organiser Sarawak Tourism Board (STB), which will be holding it in hybrid format for the first time.

While the venue remains at Sarawak Cultural Village, music enthusiasts who are unable attend the physical live show, can livestream it in the comfort of their homes via subscribing an online viewing platform.

At the recent launch of the 25th Legendary RMWF at the newly opened Borneo Cultures Museum in Kuching, Sarawak’s Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, says: “I’m very proud of how far our homegrown product has come: From around 300 spectators for its first-ever concert back in 1998 to becoming the first hybrid festival of its kind in Malaysia.

Sarawak’s Minister for Tourism, Creative
 Industry and Performing Arts,
 Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah

“Concertgoers who miss the feel of the physical concert can come together in mutual appreciation of world music, and those around the world can enjoy world music live from the comfort of their own homes.” 

Sarawak Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor remarks, “Every year, we strive to make the RWMF better than the year before.

“Last year’s Virtual Experience gave us invaluable feedback on how we could work towards combining the best of both worlds – physical and the digital – to create RWMF’s first hybrid edition this year. 

“We hope that creating this unique precedent for the 25th edition of the festival will become a keystone for the next 25 years for the festival, bridging the past with the future and sustaining and reinventing our musical heritage and its traditions for many years to come.”

Sarawak Tourism Board Chief Executive
Officer Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor 

When STB tried out the virtual platform last year, streaming RWMF Virtual Experience for free viewing, it received encouraging response from 402,865 viewers who tuned in from 79 countries last year. 

In February this year, STB won the bronze award at the Marketing Excellence Awards Malaysia 2022 for its Excellence in Mobile Marketing for the RWMF, which recognises outstanding marketing strategies.

As in previous RWMFs, an international selection of performers and local groups will be showcasing their best presentations with non-stop music before sunset to midnight at the weekend.

STB is currently finalising its list of international performers from Canada, India, Finland, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, China, Bhutan, South Korea and the United States among other countries.

It is working with Majlis Seni Sarawak, mixing traditional Sarawakian music with international flavours to open the three-day show in a first-time musical collaboration. 

File Picture: The nightly crowd over the thousands that filled the Sarawak Cultural Village 

RWMF is more than just a music concert or festival. It has become a breeding ground for Sarawakian talents to become international performers at other international music festivals worldwide. This year, STB will again showcase some of these Sarawakian talents.

They include Alena Murang, Kemada, Sang Rawi, At Adau, Tuku Kame, Suk Binie’, Nading Rhapsody and Mathew Ngau alongside other international talents.

 
STB Director of Communications Margaret Apau (third from right) receiving the
bronze award for Excellence in Mobile Marketing for RWMF. Picture from STB

There will be an Early Bird ticket sales for the RWMF 2022 starting 18 April for both the physical and virtual concerts on www.rwmf.net


For the physical concert, festival-goers can grab tickets in the different categories: An adult one-day pass at RM150, adult three-day pass (RM375); child one-day pass (RM80), child three-day pass (RM155) while a one-day family package pass for two adults and two children costs RM400.

The virtual tickets for the RWMF 2022 are priced at RM25.

Teaser Video Rainforest World Music Festival is "BACK"

Malaysia Airlines has been named the official airline partner for the RWMF 2022. This collaboration, a continuation of the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) partnership with STB, will see the national carrier together with its sister airline Firefly and Journify offering unbeatable deals comprising flights and a three-day event pass to drive visitors to Sarawak. 

Malaysia Airlines and Firefly have early birds deals of up to 15% and 10% off discounts on flights on selected Malaysia Airlines, including from London, Australia and some ASEAN destinations and the recently launched Firefly’s jet operations from Penang to Kuching.

Firefly started direct flights from Penang to Kuching from 11 April using
Boeing 737-800 aircrafts

The sale will start from 25 April until 14 May for travels from 1-30 June. These tickets are available exclusively for those who purchase the three-day pass via the airline’s respective websites, where they are required to include the promo code to enjoy the discounts on the air tickets. 

Customers will also have the option to buy the “value-for-flights” deals exclusively on Journify that offers MHflypass plus a three-day pass to the RWMF 2022 at a fixed attractive price which gives them flexibility, convenience, and control over their flight spending.

The MHFlypass offers two convenient options for passengers travelling for the RWMF based .on their destination origin, allowing them to choose the zone that matches their travel needs best

Early birds can grab a MHFlypass for as low as RM1,774 for Zone 2 and RM1,974 for Zone 3 with the flights valid for a year.

Zone 2 offers passengers the opportunity to fly between Kuala Lumpur and destinations in Sabah and Sarawak while Zone 3 allows them to fly from Sabah and Sarawak to Peninsular Malaysia destinations, with a connection in Kuala Lumpur.

Multiple payment options are available, including an installment plan or Buy Now Pay Later, for these deals.

Speaking on behalf of MAG, MASWings Chief Operating Officer Captain Nasaruddin A Bakar says, “We are honoured to be appointed as the official carrier for the highly anticipated 25th edition of RWMF to bring in travellers from all over the world to the Land of the Hornbills.”

With Malaysia’s international borders reopening on 1 April, he believes this collaboration with STB will be “vital to rebuild the tourism industry, stimulate domestic and international travelling, and help support industry players' value chains such as travel agents, product owners, local artisans, and business partners”.

He adds, “We will continue to build travellers' confidence by maintaining high levels of safety and hygiene standards onboard our flights to make it a memorable travel experience for all to fly confidently, fly Malaysia and fly beyond.”


#RWMF
#Sarawak Tourism board
#Malaysia Aviation Group
#Malaysia Airlines
#Firefly
#MASWings
#Wolrd Music Festival
#Sarawak Cultural Village
#Journify
#
Borneo Cultures Museum