Travel discounts and special rates up for grabs at Sabah MATTA Fair this May

KOTA KINABALU: New destinations, travel discounts and special domestic vendor rates are up for grabs in the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) fair here in May.

This was made possible with the reopening of international borders for many countries including China, Korea, Japan, Europe, the United States and the Middle East, said MATTA Sabah chapter chairman Lawrence Chin.

He said they were targeting to have over 150 travel agents and related industry players setting up booths at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) from May 19 to 21.

He said this might be the biggest MATTA fair yet for Sabah if they managed to get the target of 150 booths set up comprising regional and international exhibitors.

"People are eager to travel. We received a lot of enquiries from travel agents and travellers about this fair," Chin said in his speech during a press conference on Wednesday (Feb 1).

His speech was delivered by the honorary secretary Alicia Gomes.

"This MATTA fair will be the most comprehensive travel fair in the state with bargains for everyone to consider, new exciting products and destinations to look forward to.

"There will be great deals and offers from various tourism organisations, travel agents, hoteliers, bankers and airlines as well as early bird discounts which will be given till the end of this month," Chin said.

The exhibition is free for all to attend from 10am to 9pm during the three days.

Earlier, Gomes said MATTA Sabah hoped to get some RM50mil in sales during this MATTA fair, double from last year’s exhibition.

She said in the fair held last year, they only had over 40 booths rented out but the exhibition garnered some RM25mil in sales.

"People are eager to travel while industry players can’t wait to get back on track," she said, adding that MATTA was not only looking at foreign travels but also to boost community based tourism and other domestic products.

"We hope this will mark the start of a robust tourism economy for all," said Gomes.