MALAYSIA ENTHRALLS SYRIANS WITH ROUSING CULTURAL SHOW

From Muin Abdul Majid

DAMASCUS, May 13 (Bernama) -- A rousing Malaysian cultural performance
brought the house down during a gala dinner organised by Tourism Malaysia here
Tuesday night in conjunction with its roadshow to Syria, aimed at drawing more
visitors to Malaysia.

Clad in colourful costumes and headgear, the dancers from Pak Ngah
Production brought Malaysian culture to the fore during the show at a leading
hotel in the Syrian capital, much to the delight of the packed ballroom
comprising Syrian travel industry players and media representatives.

Damascus, along with the Jordanian capital, Amman, had been chosen by
Tourism Malaysia for the roadshow conducted on the heels of the Arabian Travel
Market 2009 which concluded in Dubai on Friday.

Tourism Malaysia deputy director-general Azizan Noordin told Bernama that
tourism players in the two cities appeared to be excited about Malaysia.

"We have to stay focused on the West Asian market which has good potential
for the Malaysian tourism sector," he said.

Tourism Malaysia brought more than a dozen hoteliers and travel agents to
the two Middle Eastern cities to take part in travel marts where buyers or
potential partners could meet them directly.

"I think that our presence has had an impact as the people in both countries
can glean the excitement that is in store for visitors to Malaysia," said
Azizan.

Malaysia received 4,838 visitors from Syria in 2008 and in the first four
months this year, 1,610 Syrians came to Malaysia.

The Southeast Asian nation hopes to attract some 6,000 Syrian visitors in
2009.

This year, Malaysia is focusing on niche products, including luxury
vacation, golf and Malaysia My Second Home in the high-end segment, as well as
education tourism, health tourism, horse riding and diving.

Azizan said Tourism Malaysia would pay closer attention to markets like
Lebanon, Iran, Egypt and Kuwait.

"We need to step up promotion activities in Lebanon. As it is, there are
already direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Beirut. For Iran, the peak
holiday period is in March.

"Perhaps the year end would be the best time for us to visit the two
countries."

He said the Malaysian tourism promotion agency would also be working closely
with international airlines with a view to increasing direct flights to
Malaysia.

Azizan also called on Malaysian tourism industry players to continuously
support Tourism Malaysia's initiatives.

"We need good teamwork. Tourism Malaysia is promoting products belonging to
other people. So the owners of the products, like travel agents and hoteliers,
should come on board and support us," he said.

He also said that all Malaysian tourism stakeholders should strive to
improve the quality of service to foreign visitors as well as domestic
travellers.
-- BERNAMA