MALAYSIA-INDONESIA TO JOINTLY PROMOTE MICE PACKAGES

JAKARTA, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Indonesia has renewed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2000, to jointly promote MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) tour packages.

Tourism Minister Azalina Othman Said said the cooperation would involve the
promotion of 'pre and post-MICE' tours to business travellers who would be asked
to visit Indonesia before or after MICE activities and vice versa.

"This joint approach will help promote Malaysian and Indonesian tourism,"
she said after a courtesy call on Indonesian Culture and Tourism Minister Jero
Wacik here Thursday.

Azalina said a committee would be set up to promote MICE tourism in both
countries and that they also agreed to offer discounts on hotel rooms, shopping
and airfare for ASEAN tourists visiting Malaysia and Indonesia.

"Malaysian tourists to Indonesia will only have to show their passports to
get the discounts. Similarly, Indonesian tourists arriving in Malaysia will also
enjoy discounts," she said adding it was one of several initiatives decided at
the ASEAN tourism ministers meeting in Hanoi last month.

Malaysia and Indonesia also agreed to try and get RTM and TVRI, the national
TV stations of both countries to give 50 discount on the advertisement rate,
pending approval by both governments.

Azalina said Malaysia would step up tourism promotion in Indonesia via
advertising campaign on MetroTV and The Jakarta Post daily to expose Indonesians
to tourist destinations in Malaysia.

Some 266,227 Indonesians visited Malaysia in 2007, mostly under the health
tourism packages.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has 80 weekly flights with 13,620 seats to
Indonesian destinations while AirAsia and Garuda Indonesia has 281 weekly
services with 49,234 seats.
--BERNAMA