Malaysia wants strong alliance with Cebu in tourism promotion

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=6&rid=771939
• Friday, June 12, 2015

(PNA),RMA/EB/RSM

CEBU CITY, June 12 (PNA) -- The Malaysian government, through its Tourism Malaysia office, has initiated a strong alliance with Cebu Province, to create a mutual destinations' promotion campaign.

"We are talking to Cebu authorities to collaborate in promoting both places," said Tourism Malaysia director general Datò Mirza Mohammad Taiyab.

Taiyab said Cebu's captivating resort charm can complement with Malaysia’s large bed of jungles and rain forests.

These are just few of the complements that Cebu and Malaysia will be able to formulate.

Taiyab, together with a 15-member delegation comprising of State of Tourism Boards, product owners, hoteliers and tour operators, met with the tourism industry movers in Cebu and Manila, as well as government authorities to reinforce the existing ministerial level of the Malaysia-Philippine joint tourism promotion agenda.

This is under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)Tourism Ministers Meeting.

The planned promotional linkage between some cities in Malaysia and Cebu are still in the drawing board.

But Taiyab said Filipinos are encouraged to explore more the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country in Southeast Asia, known for its "Truly Asia" experience.

Taiyab said aside from its well-known destinations like the iconic Petronas Twin Towers, and theme parks, among others, the country is constantly introducing fresher stories to attract a foreign audience, including Filipinos.

"There must be new stories to tell about Malaysia," Taiyab said.

This year, the country, which is also positioning as the key educational hub in the ASEAN region, is bannering the year 2015 as its "Year of Festivals."

The Malaysian government is spending USD50 million for advertising campaigns only for this year.

Latest record showed that of its total 27 million foreign tourist arrivals, 618,000 are Filipinos.

Over the last 10 years, Filipino arrivals to Malaysia have exponentially improved, making Philippines as its 7th largest source of tourists.

Increasing the number of direct flights to Malaysia from different point of destinations in the Philippines like Cebu, is the main reason why Filipinos are now interested to explore Malaysia.

Today, there are a total of 15,000 airline seats available for direct connectivity to Malaysia from the Philippines.

Air connectivity in the Visayas is also improving, with the current seven direct flights with a total of 1,200 seats a week, going to different cities in Malaysia like Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalo.