Border reopens: 'Malaysia, Truly Asia' tourism campaign goes global again

Tourism Malaysia will embark on its 'Malaysia, Truly Asia' global campaign again following the reopening of the country's borders to international travellers today.

The agency said more than 100 promotional activities have been lined up to increase Malaysia's visibility as a preferred holiday destination to both domestic and international tourists.

These include roadshows, joint promotions and familiarisation trips through a global network of 30 Tourism Malaysia offices around the world as well as six marketing representatives abroad.

"As the country's borders are officially reopened to international travellers today, Tourism Malaysia is ready to re-embark on its global advertising campaign by leveraging the 'Malaysia, Truly Asia' branding in boosting inbound tourism while domestic tourism continues to drive the recovery," the agency said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the industry hopes for a strong rebound now that borders are fully open again.

“The full reopening of borders is indeed a huge relief for the tourism industry as we welcome more international tourists, newcomers and regulars alike, to further boost our economy.

"Therefore, we hope for a strong rebound in our market as the border reopening will open doors for the tourism revival to bolster recovery," she said in a statement.

Nancy was at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport earlier today to greet international passengers.

Over 110 international flights are expected to land in Malaysia today, particularly in KLIA and KLIA 2.

The ministry targets two million international tourist arrivals and RM8.6bil tourist receipts this year.

Nancy had earlier said that domestic tourists will continue to drive the recovery of the country’s tourism sector as international travel gradually grows.

“The arrival of international tourists will gradually grow in 2022 from neighbouring countries namely Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei, followed by regional South-East Asia countries, the rest of Asia and from the medium and long-haul market,” she said.

In conjunction with the reopening of the country's borders, Tourism Malaysia also launched its Strategic & Marketing Plan (2022-2026) earlier this week in an effort to boost the country's tourism sector.

The new organisational strategy will focus on domestic tourism promotion as well as international tourism recovery, with greater emphasis on digital adoption, innovation, health and safety.