MALAYSIA SET TO CAPTURE GREATER SHARE OF INTERNATIONAL MICE MARKET

bY Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

KUCHING (Malaysia), April 23 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is set to move swiftly to
capture a greater share of the international Meetings, Incentives, Conventions
and Exhibitions (MICE) market, says Deputy Minister of Tourism Dr James Dawos
Mamit.

"We have established the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCeb)
last year to intensify the promotion of MICE.

"In fact, achieving growth in MICE sector is our next most important
objective besides increasing tourist arrivals and spending," he said.

"A stronger and vibrant MICE sector will allow us to reach our full
potentila in years to come and see better yields. Therefore, we are working with
planners and industry professionals such as the Sarawak Convention Bureau to
develop the sector," he said in his speech at the opening of the five-day
Pacific Travel Association annual meeting beginning Friday, at the Borneo
Convention Centre Kuching.

The event was officially opened by Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

Dawos said other than MICE, other segments that have attracted many visitors
to Malaysia include the Homestay Programme, the Malaysia My Second Home
programme, medical and wellness tourism, and ecotourism, besides various
creative events and festivals which highlight Malaysia as a colourful, vibrant
and lively country, with various festivities and celebrations throughout the
year.

Touching on PATA, the deputy minister said being a Sarawakian himself, he
was delighted and proud that PATA had chosen Kuching to hold its annual meeting
this year.

He said the event has brought together the creme de la creme and major
players of the tourism industry to discuss issues impacting the industry.

At the same time, it would also serve as a great platform for networking and
fostering new business opportunities and alliances.

On another note, he said that despite being a challenging year for many
countries and even with four per cent decline in internation tourist arrivals
worldwide as forecast by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Malaysia had
shown its relience in facing such odds by recording a 7.2 per cent increase in
tourist arrials over 2008 with 23.6 million tourists.

This has made it one of the few countries in the world to record a growth in
tourist arrivals.

"Its resilence is largely attributed to the active participation of both the
public and private sector in undertaking vigorous promotion and marketing,
diversifying target markets, as well as improving competitiveness of tourism
products and services to sustain interests among visitors to Malaysia," he
added.
-- BERNAMA


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