Malaysia Gains Popularity As A Destination For Indian Corporate Events
NEW DELHI, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's appeal as a destination for business events and incentive travel has grown among Indian companies amid a surge in tourist numbers from India.
The "meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions" (MICE) segment is one of Tourism Malaysia's key focus areas at this year's South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) trade fair in New Delhi.
Malaysia was recognised as the best MICE destination in 2024 in the Indian market and it is keen to build on its reputation in event tourism.
"Tourism Malaysia is actively supporting MICE groups and offering incentives to encourage more corporate and business events in Malaysia,” Tourism Malaysia’s New Delhi office director, Ahmad Johanif Mohd Ali, said in his speech at a Tourism Malaysia networking dinner on Tuesday.
“Apart from this, MyCEB (Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau), Langkawi, and Penang are also providing incentives for MICE," he said.
"These initiatives will further enhance Malaysia's appeal as a top choice for international conferences, corporate events, and incentive travel," he added.
Malaysia's tourism promotion campaign in India this year focuses on attracting more travellers interested in shopping, theme parks, family vacations, and honeymoon packages.
Destination weddings, business events and golf are seen as new promising areas.
Tourist arrivals from India grew almost 72 per cent to 1.13 million in 2024 compared with the previous year.
The Malaysian government's announcement in December 2024 that it will extend its 30-day visa exemption policy for Indian travellers until Dec 31, 2026, has been welcomed by the travel industry.
Earlier it took about 60 days for an average Indian traveller to decide on their Malaysia visit but now the decision time is less than two weeks, resulting in a sharp growth in last-minute bookings, Ahmad Johanif said.
Sixty Malaysian exhibitors, including tour operators, hotels, airlines, and the tourism boards of Sabah and Melaka, are part of the Malaysian stand at the Feb 19-21 SATTE.
Malaysian High Commissioner to India, Muzafar Shah Mustafa, inaugurated the Tourism Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines stands at the event and interacted with exhibitors.
Malaysia Airlines operates more than 70 weekly flights between India and Malaysia and plans to add capacity to the route.
Rising traffic between the two countries has opened up new routes.
Ahmad Johanif said Tourism Malaysia collaborated with Indian airline IndiGo to launch direct Bengaluru-Langkawi and Chennai-Penang services in December and Air India began flying to Kuala Lumpur in September last year.
"We would like to see more connectivity between India and other Malaysian cities, especially Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching," he said.
Batik Air and AirAsia serve a number of destinations between India and Malaysia.
-- BERNAMA
