MATTA expects 100,000 for Sept fair

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) is expecting more than 100,000 visitors to its fair in September.

MATTA president Hamzah Rahmat said the fair, which will be held from Sept 5 till 7, would be targeting travellers for the year end school holidays in November and December.

It would also focus on promoting domestic tourism in line with Visit Malaysia 2014.

“We have dedicated Hall Four, which we call the Malaysian Pavilion, where promotions for domestic tourism will be held.

“At the rate we are going, we believe it will be sold out and it could even spill over to Hall Three. We have been getting very encouraging response in exhibitors’ bookings,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Hamzah said Sabah, Sarawak and Kedah had expressed interest in promoting their states at the travel fair, which takes place at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

Tourism Malaysia has taken up 107 out of the 167 booths that will be set up in Hall Four, he said.

In total, Hamzah said there would be 1,200 booths placed in the four halls which will feature international, Asean and domestic regions.

MATTA Fair organising committee chairman Rocky Kho said much could be done to promote domestic tourism and that was why the association had decided to focus on promoting Malaysia especially to Malaysians.

Datuk Azizan Noordin, Tourism Malaysia deputy director-general for promotion, said it would invite tour operators who could not afford a booth on their own to be a part of the fair and promote their packages.

Chong Yoke Har, Tourism Malaysia deputy director-general for marketing, said as part of Visit Malaysia 2014, more than 1,000 tour operators had come up with attractive travel packages which would be printed in a booklet and distributed to visitors at the fair.

She said visitors could look forward to 1,030 packages that had been compiled especially on domestic tourism.