THE upcoming Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) fair this March will be even bigger with an additional hall dedicated to domestic tourism.
The first event of the biannual MATTA fair will be held at Putra World Trade Centre from March 17 to 19.
Out of five halls featuring 1,403 booths, two halls (Merdeka Hall and Hall 4) will be accommodating about 300 booths for domestic products and services along with state tourism organisations.
MATTA chief executive officer Phua Tai Neng said MATTA played an important role in developing and promoting domestic travel.
“MATTA fair has established itself as a one-stop platform for value-for-money travel packages which appeal not only to Malaysians, but also expatriates in the country.
“With the encouraging response and participation from exhibitors and state tourism organisations, it is a strong indicator that they have confidence in the domestic tourism market,” said Phua after the balloting session for exhibitors of the domestic halls.
He added that there had been an increase of 200 domestic booths compared with last year.
The biggest exhibitor will be Tourism Malaysia, with a total of 60 booths.
“Tourism Malaysia will bring in smaller tour operators under them with the aim of promoting domestic travel,” said Phua.
MATTA has named Perak as the favourite destination for Malaysians among other states, he said.
“The three-day event in March is expected to attract about 100,000 visitors and achieve RM180mil in sales.
“Despite the economic concerns, people still need to travel and take a break, be it domestic or international.
“With 95% of the overall booths taken up to-date, it clearly shows the confidence exhibitors have in the tourism market, and I am sure the upcoming fair will be yet another successful event,” he said.
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