The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) has announced that its agency, Tourism Malaysia, will be participating in the world’s largest tourism trade fair, the Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin (ITB Berlin). Taking a whole new approach this year, the three-day event, ITB Berlin NOW 2021, will be taking place virtually until 12 March 2021.
This year, Malaysia will be participating for the 48th time alongside 30 Malaysian organizations consisting of 10 tour operators, 10 hotels and resorts, 7 state tourism boards, and 3 tourism associations. The delegates are provided a platform and facilities at The Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur to establish global networking and conduct business transactions with online buyers, courtesy of Tourism Malaysia. For the first time ever, Malaysia will be featuring a “virtual café” called “Malaysia Truly Asia Café Corner” that will highlight Malaysia’s niche products such as specialized scuba diving for the disabled, birdwatching, and medical tourism.
“The shifting trend in tourists’ preference after experiencing the pandemic has given a whole new perspective to the tourism industry in the new norm. On top of that, climate change and environmental protection are also increasingly becoming important issues in the tourism industry worldwide,” says Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, Minister of MOTAC.
Tourism Malaysia is looking towards possible collaborations and partnerships by leveraging on the business-to-business spectrum. Apart from its main goal of promoting and increasing Malaysia’s visibility in the European market, Tourism Malaysia also wishes to enhance connectivity from major long-haul destinations to Malaysia and also to take advantage of international events such as ITB Berlin to draw visitors to Malaysia.
