Grand Tourism Celebrations To Usher In "Visit Malaysia Year 2014"

PUTRAJAYA, 11 JANUARY 2013: 2014 may still be a year away, but the Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Malaysia are wasting no time in making early preparations to woo the targeted 28 million tourists the country is eyeing for the Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014.

A promotion campaign for the "Visit Malaysia Year 2014" will be officially launched by Prime Minister Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak on 19 January 2013.

The launch is part of a three-day tourism carnival to create awareness of the economic importance of VMY 2014 to all Malaysians. It starts from 18 to 20 January 2013 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur.

"We are kicking things off in a big way with a grand tourism carnival to create awareness and to gain the public and private sector support for the Visit Malaysia Year 2014," the Minister of Tourism, Dato' Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen announced today.

One of the highlights of the tourism carnival is the simultaneous beating of 500 drums by various ethnic groups in Malaysia choreographed by Pak Ngah to signify the official launch of the "Visit Malaysia Year 2014" promotion campaign by the Prime Minister.

Those coming to the tourism carnival will learn about the importance of Malaysia's tourism industry and how it has performed over the years. Visitors will get a chance to be familiar with Malaysia's exciting tourism events such as 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism Festival, Parks and Gardens and 1Malaysia International Shoe Festival.

The presence of other government ministries/agencies also underlines the important involvement of various sectors towards the tourism industry. Among the Malaysian ministries participating are Ministry of Youth and Sports Ministry, Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism, Ministry of Higher Education, and Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture.

Exhibitions and bazaars will also be held to highlight Malaysia's many tourism products. With the recent focus on cycling and biking tourism across Malaysia, a bicycle and big bikes marquee will be set up with vendors showing off their products and gears. Expect to see names like Harley Davidson, Ducati, BMW and GIVI as well as specially-designed custom-made choppers on site.

Besides that, the public can also make their holiday plans early by purchasing special holiday packages on offer during the tourism carnival. At the tourism consumer exhibition, more than 200 booths are taken up by hotels, travel agents and tourism product operators to offer the best holiday packages to the public.

Throughout the three-day event, visitors will be entertained by talented musicians such as Ella, Khatijah Ibrahim, and Azlan and the Typewriter. Plenty of activities and competitions with exciting prizes are open to both children and adults.

A special Kid Zone has also been set aside for the entertainment of the younger visitors. Food-wise, the carnival has a special 1Malaysia Food Court which highlights popular dishes from all across the country as well as ethnic cuisines such as yong tau foo, rojak, mee rebus, chicken rice, kuey teow, nasi lemak and more.

"I am confident of galvanising the support and engagement of every Malaysian. After all, tourism benefits the rakyat & more jobs are created for our people, there is income for our tourist guides, tour operators, homestay operators, restaurant and hotel operators," Dato' Sri Ng said.

"The rakyat has a pivotal role to play by uniting together to project an excellent and positive image of the country and taking care of our tourism assets by ensuring the cleanliness and conservation of these places while the tourism service providers deliver their very best," she added.

The hosting of the VMY 2014 as well as designating 2013 as a preparatory year is timely as the Asia Pacific region has registered tremendous growth and will continue to see a surge in even more inbound tourists over the next few years. An intensive tourism campaign over the next two years will help ensure that Malaysia is at the forefront to receive this huge inflow of tourists and meet its target of attracting 36 million tourists and RM168 billion in tourist receipts by 2020.

The launch of the "Visit Malaysia Year 2014" promotion campaign at the grounds of Bukit Jalil National Stadium is open free to the public from 10 am onwards from 18 to 20 January 2013.

Issued by: Communications & Publicity Division, Tourism Malaysia
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Last updated : 22 April 2014