KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian tourism roadshow, aimed at re-establishing Malaysia as a prime destination for Chinese tourists, will be launched across four major cities in China.
The roadshow, jointly organised by the Malaysia Tourism Board (MTB) and Malaysia Inbound Chinese Association (Mica), will feature 150 tourism agencies, hotels, tourism product owners and airlines that will shine a spotlight on Malaysia as a premier tourist destination for Chinese travellers.
The roadshow will run for two days each in Guangzhou (April 7-8), Beijing (April 10-11), Shanghai (April 12-13) and Xiamen (April 14-15), with the first day at each location spent promoting Malaysia tourism to Chinese businesses, while the second day will focus on advertising to the locals.
Also participating will be the Selangor, Terengganu, Sarawak and Sabah State Tourism Boards who will showcase their respective states' unique tourist destinations.
The roadshow will be the first time the Malaysia government has led tourism industry players to China for a roadshow after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The roadshow will focus on what Malaysia's retirement tourism, health tourism and education tourism has to offer for Chinese travellers, according to Mica president Datuk Dr Angie Ng.
"Prior to the pandemic lockdown, Malaysia was an extremely popular retirement and 'second home' destination for Chinese retirees and we hope to revive that.
"As such, Malaysia My Second Home programme members will be at the roadshow to once again promote Malaysia as an ideal second home for those who wish to retire or live in Malaysia.
"Participants will also highlight Malaysia's strength as one of the best destinations for ecotourism and cultural tourism due to our diversity in both people and wildlife.
"The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council will also be there to promote Malaysia's medical tourism industry as a place to get high-quality medical treatment at an affordable price," she said.
She said the roadshow's goal would be to bring in at least one to two million tourists from China, which was part of their overall goal to bring in at least five million Chinese tourists to Malaysia before the end of this year.
"This roadshow is part MTB's and Mica's shared goal of rebuilding the tourism partnership between Malaysia and China while also alerting key industry players that China has returned as one of the best markets for tourism," she added during a press conference at the Pavilion Hotel here on Monday (April 3).
While optimistic, Ng said it was crucial that Malaysia's airports and businesses were ready to take in the expected massive influx of Chinese tourists over the next few months.
"The government must address recent issues relating to slow services at airports or the breakdown of the aerotrain service as our airports are the first image of the country that tourists will see.
"We are also worried that local businesses may not be ready due to the labour shortage currently faced by our country," she said.
