PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) has deferred the MATTA Fair in Kuala Lumpur to May owing to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) crisis affecting the economies in the region.
Its president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said the decision was made following adverse effects of recent travel bans and negative public perception due to indiscriminate social media postings of the outbreak on the nation’s tour and travel trade.
“Discussions with industry partners both locally and abroad, coupled with events that are unfolding in the travel space, have resulted in weak forward booking trends by customers who are preferring to delay making travel plans until the current global situation shows signs of returning to normalcy,” he said in a statement issued late yesterday.
The MATTA Fair was scheduled to take place from March 13 to 15 but will now be held from May 1 to 3 at the Putra World Trade Centre.
Meanwhile, Tan said the decision to defer the travel fair had received support and encouragement from exhibitors, sponsors and trade partners despite the inconvenience.
“Even now the team is working very hard with industry partners to put together irresistible travel deals in anticipation of a bounce-back.
“History has shown that our travel industry has proven to be very resilient and that Malaysians are an adventurous and hardy lot who won’t stop travelling,” added Tan.
More than 200 exhibitors, ranging from national tourism organisations, state tourism offices, travel agencies, airlines, theme parks, cruise lines and hotels have registered their participation in the MATTA Fair.
MATTA is also looking into other exciting initiatives to satisfy Malaysians’ love for travel even during this difficult period in time.
The public can visit and follow it on the official MATTA Fair Facebook account @mattafairkualalumpur and official Twitter account @MATTA_FAIR to receive the latest updates.
Its president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said the decision was made following adverse effects of recent travel bans and negative public perception due to indiscriminate social media postings of the outbreak on the nation’s tour and travel trade.
“Discussions with industry partners both locally and abroad, coupled with events that are unfolding in the travel space, have resulted in weak forward booking trends by customers who are preferring to delay making travel plans until the current global situation shows signs of returning to normalcy,” he said in a statement issued late yesterday.
The MATTA Fair was scheduled to take place from March 13 to 15 but will now be held from May 1 to 3 at the Putra World Trade Centre.
Meanwhile, Tan said the decision to defer the travel fair had received support and encouragement from exhibitors, sponsors and trade partners despite the inconvenience.
“Even now the team is working very hard with industry partners to put together irresistible travel deals in anticipation of a bounce-back.
“History has shown that our travel industry has proven to be very resilient and that Malaysians are an adventurous and hardy lot who won’t stop travelling,” added Tan.
More than 200 exhibitors, ranging from national tourism organisations, state tourism offices, travel agencies, airlines, theme parks, cruise lines and hotels have registered their participation in the MATTA Fair.
MATTA is also looking into other exciting initiatives to satisfy Malaysians’ love for travel even during this difficult period in time.
The public can visit and follow it on the official MATTA Fair Facebook account @mattafairkualalumpur and official Twitter account @MATTA_FAIR to receive the latest updates.
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