TOURISM MINISTER ON SALES MISSION TO RUSSIA, KAZAKHSTAN AND UKRAINE

FROM SHARIFAH NUR SHAHRIZAD SY MOHAMED SHARER

ST PETERSBURG (Russia), Sept 30 (Bernama) -- Tourism Minister Dr
Ng Yen Yen is leading a delegation on a 12-day mission to Russia, Kazakhstan and
Ukraine beginning Tuesday to woo tourists from the three countries to holiday in
Malaysia.

During the visit, Ng is expected to attend trade meetings with key tourism
trade players and hold media sessions with the local media in updating them
on the latest tourism developments in Malaysia.

Based on records, Russian visitors to Malaysia has been growing from 16,868
in 2007 to 26,308 last year, which is a 56 per cent growth, and in the first six
months of this year, 9,218 visitors from Russia have visited Malaysia.

Malaysia targets some 25,000 tourists from Moscow alone this year, and
among the segments being promoted in Russia were leisure holidays, adventures
and eco trips with destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Borneo, and the
various islands.

According to Tourism Malaysia statistics, the average Russian tourist spent
about RM402.70 (US$115.70) per day and their average duration of visit was 8.5
days.

Last year, revenue from Russians tourist to Malaysia was estimated at RM90
million, which is an increase of 57.3 percent compared to RM57.2 million from
2007 and according to World Tourism Organization (WTO) statistics, Russians were
the 10th highest travel spenders in the world.


While here, Ng will visit several tourist attraction such as The State
Hermitage Museum, the Summer Garden, Peterhof Garden before proceeding to Moscow
for product updates and visits to the New Bolshoi Theatre, Red Square and
Tretyakov State Galery.

In Kazakhstan, Ng is scheduled to deliver a speech at the 18th session of
the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly which
will be held in Astana, the capital city and second largest city of the country,
after meeting tour operators in Almaty its largest city.

As for Kazakhstan and Ukraine, according to statistics from Euromonitor
International, some 268,000 people from Kazakhstan and 9,152,000 Ukranians were
forecast to depart for outbound destinations this year.

-- BERNAMA