By Rafiq Vayani
KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism Malaysia with the support of the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board Employee Union (MTPB Employee Union) and Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS), had launched a special package for civil servants in conjunction with Cuti-Cuti Malaysia campaign.
The package is part of the short term recovery plan in the effort to further increase the promotion of the domestic tourism sector within the Movement Control Order (MCO) period. The launching ceremony was officiated by the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC), Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri.
“This campaign serves as a ‘teaser’ for the initiatives that have been developed by MOTAC through Tourism Malaysia to intensify our promotional efforts in attracting civil servants to travel in the country. We hope that members of CUEPACS will also play the role as our ‘tourism ambassadors’ and help us convince our fellow countrymen that Malaysia is a safe destination by travelling while adhering to the SOPs that have been set by the government,” said the minister at the launching event which was held at Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTiC) today.
The special package has been developed by Tourism Malaysia for those in the civil sector to appreciate the efforts and service rendered by the civil servants nationwide by offering exclusive discounts on tours and holiday packages. Civil servants are considered to be the least affected by the implementation of the MCO and have relatively stable and higher disposable income compared to other groups in the community. This campaign is run with the objective to encourage this group to travel within the country and spend more on the local economy, in line with the government’s initiatives to revitalise the domestic sector.
This collaboration with CUEPACS is seen as an ideal platform to reach the target group as the congress has the strength of over 1.2 million members out of the total 1.6 million civil servants from various agencies and government sector in Malaysia.
Tourism Malaysia, under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture had mobilised the industry players including tour agencies, hotels and tour operators to participate in this campaign by introducing packages covering tourism products within the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. The 11 participating agencies have come up with holiday promotions such as 3 Days 2 Nights and 2 Days 1 Night holiday packages featuring 5 and 4 star hotels around the city centre, Selangor as well as Genting Highlands from prices as low as RM120 per person.
In addition to offers on accommodations, civil servants can look forward to a selection of exciting tour products for day or walk-in tourists with rebates of up to 30 percent. Some of the tourism products featured are Putrajaya tour, Bangi Wonderland, I-City Shah Alam, Farm In The City, Genting Highland, Sky Bridge KLCC, Sky Mirror Kuala Selangor, Farm Tour UPM Serdang, Sunway Lagoon, Wet World Shah Alam, Aquaria KLCC, Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, MAEPS and many more.
Free 5,000 Kuala Lumpur city tour Hop On Hop Off bus tickets, hotel stays as well as entrance tickets with discounts of up to 60 percent are also some of the added value offers that are part of the special packages. The package is available for booking until 30 September 2020 and the validity period is until 31 Disember 2020.
The current packages cover products within the Klang Valley and will be extended to other states in upcoming phases.
Those in the civil service are encouraged to seize this opportunity to grab the packages offered, especially with the personal tax relief of up to RM1,000 for domestic travelling expenses until 31 December 2021 under the PENJANA stimulus package.
To obtain the special packages, civil servants only need to show their passes that indicate their employment in the public service sector at selected tour agencies. For more information on the packages, please visit Tourism Malaysia’s official website at www.malaysia.travel.
