TRAVEL INDUSTRY PLAYERS GET A TASTE OF MALAYSIA HOSPITALITY

By Muin Abdul Majid

DUBAI, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysian hospitality took centre stage here last
night when Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Tourism Malaysia jointly organised a Hari
Raya (Eid al-Fitr) open house for travel industry partners.

The evening was also significant for MAS which celebrates 30 years of
operations in Dubai, a city-state in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"Over the years, MAS' operations in Dubai have evolved together with the
city. We're proud to be part of the city's transformation," its regional general
manager for Middle East and Africa, Merina Abu Tahir, told the gathering.

Merina thanked travel agencies, corporate clients, local authorities and
other government agencies for their support.

She also highlighted MAS' award-winning performance, with its cabin staff
having been named the "World's Best Cabin Crew" by Skytrax for the sixth time
recently.

MAS touts "Malaysian Hospitality" (MH) on board its flights, with 'MH' also
happens to be the airline's code.

Malaysian consul-general in Dubai, Syed Mohamad Hasrin Tengku Hussin, said
people-to-people contact and business interactions between Malaysians and
Emiratis as well residents of UAE were the main reason for closer relations
between the two countries.

"As of August this year, more than 200,000 people from the Middle East had
visited Malaysia, up 3.3 per cent over the same period last year," he told the
gathering.

Syed Mohamad said Dubai and Abu Dhabi were home to about 200 Malaysian
firms, with many of them involved in iconic projects like the Dubai Metro and
Yas Marina Formula One Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

The multi-cultural and multi-religious South-East Asian nation, promoted
worldwide through Tourism Malaysia's "Malaysia Truly Asia" campaign, welcomed
over 265,000 visitors from the Middle East in 2008.

Also present was Tourism Malaysia Dubai director, Tuan Razali Tuan Omar.

The carrier's operation between Kuala Lumpur and Dubai was launched in 1979.

To mark the 30-year milestone, MAS is offering special low fares to selected
destinations and value deals for travel packages.

From October to November 2009, MAS is offering all-inclusive return airfares
starting from 1,945 dirhams to Kuala Lumpur, 1,805 dirhams to Manila/Cebu, 2,083
dirhams to Indonesia and 4,025 dirhams to destinations in Australia and New
Zealand.

Tickets are on sale at www.malaysiaairlines.com.
-- BERNAMA