Malaysia To Host World Tourism Conference 2013 In Melaka

By Anthony Tan | Virgin Communications

email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

 



The Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia together with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) will be organising the third series of the World Tourism Conference (WTC) to be held in Melaka from 21 to 23 October 2013. 

 

The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dato’Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (centre) briefing the media at the press conference accompanied by his senior officers

 

 

WTC 2010 held in Kota Kinabalu

WTC was first hosted in Kuala Lumpur in 2007 with the theme, “Tourism Success Stories and Shooting Stars” while in 2010, the conference’s theme was “Tourism Success Stories and Rising Stars” in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

This year’s theme is “Global Tourism: Game Changers and Pace Setters” with the conference supported by the State Government of Melaka.
 

Two of Melaka's many tourist attractions. In the

background is the Porta de Santiago and the 

colourful decorated trishaw 

As one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Malaysia, it is a perfect venue to host the WTC 2013.

Melaka is colourful, historic city, which has been developed over 500 years as a trading centre. There has been with so much cultural exchanges between the East and the West passing through the Straits of Malacca.

The influences of Asia and Europe, especially from the Indians, Portuguese, Dutch and British have endowed Melaka with a multicultural heritage that has left a unique mark in its architectural landscape, cultural heritage and lifestyle.

“Melaka was chosen as the venue for the WTC 2013 since it is has been accorded the UNESCO World Heritage Site status and amplifies Malaysia’s rich and diverse culture and heritage to foreign visitors, delegates and participants,” said the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.
 

“Key professionals from all over the world in the tourism industry will gather at this conference to deliberate and address challenges beyond mass tourism, opportunities in innovative tourism marketing and strategies for tourism product development and innovation.”
 

He added that the conference will benefit not only tourism industry players but also policy makers and other stakeholders through the sharing of experiences and knowledge in tourism planning, development and marketing.

Melaka's own red square which is a popular site for photography by tourists. If you do not take a picture here , you have not been to Melaka.

The UNWTO expects the Asia-Pacific region to grow by 330 million arrivals in two decades from 204 million in 2010 to 535 million tourist arrivals in 2030.
 

With global tourist arrivals projected at 1.56 billion in 2030, every nation is set to benefit from this phenomenal growth.

UNWTO Secretary-General Dr Taleb Rifai said in a message,“The WTC 2013 will bring together a wide range of reputed world tourism leaders, high-level policy makers and experts from both the public and private sectors to exchange experiences, put forward valuable ideas and provide guidance for future tourism development.”

He said that tourism is one of the world’s biggest generators of employment and export earnings as well as a key driver for economic growth and sustainable development.
 

WTC 2013 should not be missed by the tourism industry players in Malaysia such as hoteliers, tourism officers, airlines and airports representatives, tour operators, tourism product operators as well as tourism and hospitality students as they will get the opportunity to connect, share with and learn from one another at the conference.
 

The main objectives of World Tourism Conference 2013 are to discuss and address current and relevant issues related to the tourism industry. The key areas for discussion will be:

·        Beyond Mass Tourism: how destinations can prosper with higher yield markets by capitalising on niche products which are priced correctly and targeted to the right markets.

·        Innovative Marketing: the importance of creating innovative products and a strong brand identity to develop dynamism and continuous progress in the industry.

·        Directions for Tourism Product Development: exploring the potential of tourism products such as homestay and its variants, domestic tourism, as well as youth and Gen-Y travellers, and synergies between conservation and commercial viability.

They include the Head of Travel Google from United States, Rob Torres; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Korea Tourism Organisation (South Korea), Lee Charm; Chairman of VisitBritain (United Kingdom) Right Honorable Christopher Rodrigues CBE; Vice-Chairman of China National Tourism Administration (China), Du Jiang; CEO of Air Asia X Sdn Bhd (Malaysia); Azran Osman Rani and Managing Director of Tourism Australia, Andrew McEvoy.

The minister also announced that a day prior to WCT 2013’s opening, Malaysia is also the host for the Asian Association of Convention and Visitor’s Bureau flagship event, the seventh Asia for Asia Summit.

The summit, also to be held in Melaka, will discuss strategies, innovative ideas and best practises on developing the business events industry in this region.

Registration for the WTC 2013 is now open. Visit http://www.wtc2013malaysia.com for more details.

Melaka International Tourism Show 2009

MITS Promotion at state level MATTA Fair held at Dataran Pahlawan Melaka

MITS promotion roadshow at the Travel Business Exchange B2B session

held at Riverside Majestic Hotel in Kuching

Managing Director William Chan of Stadthuys Tours & Travel Sdn Bhd

participating in the Travel Business Exchange B2B session in Kuching

Buyers and Sellers meeting face to face in the Travel Business Exchange

MITS organised a press conference during the national level MATTA Fair at PWTC in KL.

On hand at the Q&A session were (from left) MATTA Melaka chapter chairman Goh,

Nazary,

Roslin and Noorhayati Sahlan, MICE Manager of Tourism Promotion Division, Chief Minister's Department

By Anthony Tan

The 7th Melaka International Tourism Show (MITS) expects to attract 30,000 visitors this year. It will be held at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC) in Ayer Keroh, Melaka from 4–6 December.

Nazary Ahmad, general manager from Melaka Chief Minister Department’s tourism promotion division, told a press conference recently that it is offering 250 booths to both local and intenational exhibitors.

This is more than double last year’s 120 booths. MITS is organised by the Tourism Promotion Division of the Melaka Chief Minister’s Department on behalf of the Melaka state government.

Over the years, MITS has grown to become one of the largest events held outside of Kuala Lumpur promoting both inbound and outbound tourism to the historic Melaka.

Nazary said, “Melaka is a must visit destination, especially since its conferment as a World Heritage City on 7 July 2008.”

MITS 2009 will showcase the wide range of tourism products and services that Malaysia has to offer, in particular from Melaka.

The organiser had started its promotions to attract both visitors and exhibitors to this year’s event since August when it participated in the MATTA Fair in Melaka, held a Travel Business Exchange in Kuching and promoted MITS at the National MATTA Fair in Kuala Lumpur.

Nazary is hopeful of getting more international participation to this year’s show from the national tourism organisations, which will be presenting cultural performances, handicrafts and food promotions to enhance the event.

Tourism Authority of Thailand has shown a keen interest by taking 10 booths while the Macau Government Tourist Office will take four booths.

Another confirmed exhibitor is Quantum Success, which will be launching its privilege card for hotel bookings during MITS 2009, said Roslin Mustajab, chief executive officer of Simor Creative (M) Sdn Bhd, which is managing the event.

Arab City Melaka has also confirmed participating and will be taking up two booths to showcase their tourism project, which is now under construction and targeted to open its doors before mid-2010.

More roadshows will be organised to Southern Thailand, Singapore, Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indoneasia, as well as Sabah and other states in Malaysia.

A number of activities are in the pipeline to promote MITS 2009. One of them is co-organising a “Family Drive Holiday” to Melaka from Singapore with a Singapore-based car and travel magazine and a local car club for those from the Klang Valley.

The MITS will be held in December to take advantage of the year-end school holidays for both Malaysia and Singapore. Being held over the weekend, it hopes to cash in on the large number of Singaporeans and locals visiting Melaka as MITS will be an added attraction for them.

MITS can help these visitors plan their holidays for 2010 as many exhibitors such as airlines, hotels and theme parks are now selling their products and services ahead.

Melaka recorded tourist arrivals of 7.2 million last year, above its 6.8 million target. Nazary is confident of achieving 7.4 million tourist arrivals for 2009, with 3.1 million already achieved as at June this year.

Hotels in Melaka achieved 88% room occupancy during weekdays and were overbooked during the weekends in December 2008.

This year, the MITS organiser will be organising a B2B session on 3 December between exhibitors and travel trade buyers before opening the show to the public. Arrangements and negotiations are on-going with sponsors and invited buyers to participate in the B2B session.

MITS offers exhibitors the opportunities to develop new contacts as well as to meet qualified local and international trade buyers, including frequent travellers during the event.

The organiser is looking at using round trip shuttle buses from Melaka shopping centres downtown and partner hotels to the MITC in order to reduce traffic congestion for visitors.

As for Melaka, its tourism sector’s objectives are to reinforce its 12 sub-sectors. They are history, culture, recreation, sports, shopping, conventions, health, education, agro, makan–makan (food), Melaka My 2nd Home and youth tourism.

For more information on MITS, please contact Noorhayati at 06-2328358, Roslin at 016-2039198 or Anthony Tan 019-4455233.