There’s more than one way to attract tourists to our country and this time the King of Fruits is called into service!
The superb quality of Malaysian durians has smitten durian lovers here! A 4 days 3 nights Deluxe Durian Tour Package launched by Tourism Malaysia and EGL Tours has sold up to 800 packages, recording a sales revenue of approximately RM1,280,000 for 15 group departures to Penang for June and July alone.
The durian tour offers participants an opportunity to sample fresh, delicious high quality durians in Penang along with a tour of its popular heritage sites for the price of HK$2,989 upwards (RM1,230). It’s an attractive price to pay as Malaysia durians are known to command high prices here due to their high demand and limited supply.
Visitors feasted on durian buffets and tasted various types of the Malaysian durian such as Cat Mountain King, Red Prawn and other luxurious durians whilst enjoying the sights of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed George Town and surroundings on the island.
“We’ve been promoting Malaysia through durian packages for the past three years, knowing how much Hongkongers love good durians. This year’s durian tour promotion is extra special as it is also an opportunity to create awareness about the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 campaign. It’s a memorable way to remind the locals of Malaysia whenever they taste or smell the durian,” said Baizuri Baharum, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board director (Hong Kong Office).
Promotional efforts for the durian tour packages began on May 9 when the organisers put together a durian buffet party on the famous Hong Kong tram, inviting the media, Facebook fans, and local trade members to sample the King of Fruits. Needless to say, the aroma of durians travelled the tram route of Whitty Street, Sheung Wan, Central, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, and served as a reminder to Hongkongers that the Malaysian durian season had started.
Part of the promotion was an eye-catching bus-wrap-around advertisement featuring large images of the durian on the vehicle’s body. The buses travelled around Hong Kong and Kowloon for an entire month from May 10 as a mouth-watering prelude to the durian package tours in Penang.
This is the third year that Tourism Malaysia has partnered with EGL Tours to offer this special package. This year was extra special as it was also timed to promote Visit Malaysia Year 2014 to Hongkongers.
The durian tour was first introduced to Hongkongers in 2011 with 340 packages sold valued at RM544,000 in sale and the following year sales rose to RM1,120,000 with 700 packages sold.
The success of this innovative durian tour has also sparked the interest of other Hong Kong travel agents such as Morning Star, Wincastle, Miramar and Wing On Travel to offer similar tour packages to Malaysia. – Tourism Malaysia
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