KARACHI: Malaysia is taking part in the inaugural Pakistan Travel Mart from 24 to 26 November at the Karachi Expo Centre. A total of 19 Malaysian organisations will be stationed under the Malaysia Pavilion, comprising of travel agents, tourism product owners, hoteliers, Malindo Airlines, Islamic Tourism Centre, as well as senior officials and colleagues from Tourism Malaysia.
The objective of the participation in this travel mart are to increase the awareness and interest of tourists and travel agents from Pakistan of the exciting potential that Malaysia presents as the preferred travel destination in Asia; to renew Malaysia’s commitment and support for the Pakistani travel industry in their efforts to promote Malaysia; to keep the Pakistani counterparts abreast of recent tourism developments in Malaysia; and to establish a wider network of contacts in the Pakistani tourism industry.
Director General of Tourism Malaysia, Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, said, “We are encouraged by recent statistics by Euromonitor International that show that there are 4.8 million outbound Pakistani tourists, who collectively spend PKR249.5 billion annually. Moreover, Malaysia is currently the 12th most favourite outbound destination by Pakistani tourists.”
Datuk Seri Mirza also spoke about the connectivity factor between Pakistan and Malaysia. There are currently nine weekly flights offered by Pakistan International Airlines and Malindo Air with a seat capacity of 2,450. He said, “The upcoming launch of Malindo Air’s Karachi-KL route as well as the e-visa system implementation is expected to further facilitate travel to Malaysia.”
He went on to introduce Malaysia’s diverse tourist attractions such as islands and beaches, shopping and theme parks, saying, “Our diverse cultures, delicious local food, thick rainforests, warm climate, islands and beaches, and luxury experiences, offer Pakistani tourists a pleasurable tropical holiday at highly reasonable prices at any time of the year.”
He also shared his aspirations to partner with the Pakistani tourism industry, saying, “With the Pakistani travel industry’s support and cooperation, we hope to make Malaysia the preferred destination choice for the people of Pakistan.”
Malaysia recorded 39,202 tourist arrivals from Pakistan from January to August 2017. News Desk
