Four major players in Malaysia’s tourism, business activities and aviation industries have joined forces to accelerate destination preparation and facilitate the reopening of Malaysia to leisure and business travelers.
The Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS), the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), the Malaysian Association of Travel Agents (MATTA) and airlines under the Malaysia Airlines Group (MAG) including Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and MASwings have signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU), positioning Malaysia as a safe destination for leisure and business travelers.
The signatories of the MoU are Attending the meeting were MATTA President Datuk Tan Kok Leong, MAH President Dato N. Subramaniam and MACEOS President Francis Teo. The signing ceremony was attended and witnessed by YB Dato Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia; YBhg Datuk Wira Dr Noor Zari Hamat, Secretary General of MOTAC; Dato Hj. Zainuddin Abdul Wahab, Director of Tourism Malaysia, tourism and business events industry stakeholders from across ASEAN attended through a fully virtual platform.
The MoU focuses on the establishment of an Malaysia Tourism Safety Alliance (TSA). Certified by Bureau Veritas Malaysia as a complete ecosystem of safe travel solutions, consisting of “Travel Safe” labels for travel and tourism arrangements, “Clean & Safe Malaysia” labels for hotels and “SafeBE” for business events and meetings “Make up the venue. Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines will continue to be the flag-bearer, providing a seamless, safe and hygienic travel experience for its Fly with Confidence campaign.
TSA Malaysia has committed to ensuring that appropriate health and safety procedures and processes are in place and adopt globally recognised best practices, procedures and recommendations to provide prevention related to a safer travel and business environment during and after the COVID-19 pandemic measure.
The partnership is seen as a timely move to boost tourism and economic recovery efforts as vaccination programmes become more popular and the government strengthens support for tourism recovery plans in Langkawi and other key destinations.
Teo agreed, saying: “This collaboration is a key initiative that will put Malaysia on the path to recovery in tourism and business activities. TSA Malaysia will provide travellers and business event representatives with clear assurance that Malaysia is safe and sound and ready to welcome international visitors to our shores.”
He added: “For MACEOS, this collaboration and its outcomes will strongly position Malaysia as a safe destination for business activities. It will help us earn the trust and confidence of our often highly risk-averse international clients and investors Their business decision on whether to choose Malaysia for their next international conference, convention or exhibition will depend on the health and safety risks they see in Malaysia. Having TSA Malaysia audit and certify our business will greatly enhance market confidence.”
Datuk Tan noted that the behaviour of travellers has changed due to the COVID-19 experience. He said: “Current travel trends show that travelers are placing greater emphasis on safety and hygiene. MATTA members are licensed tours and tour operators who play a vital role in ensuring that travelers’ safety needs are always prioritized, While still being able to make the most of their leisure time while on holiday in Malaysia.”
Dato’ N. Subramaniam reiterated the marketing and branding potential of TSA Malaysia, saying, “MAH was the first in the industry to introduce an independently certified hygiene and safety label for hotels in July 2020, with over 130 hotels now participating The program. Our ‘Clean & Safe Malaysia’ hotel label is a sign to look for – it gives our guests the added reassurance that they can stay for a hassle-free stay, whether for leisure or business.”
“The partnership with MATTA and MACEOS extends this further to provide travellers with an end-to-end safe travel solution, and we are sending a strong message to the world that Malaysia is ready and we are ready to welcome everyone back,” he said Add to.
As the country’s national airline, Malaysia Airlines, along with sister airlines Firefly and MASwings, is well-positioned to facilitate safe air transport services to, from and within Malaysia.
Captain Izham Ismail commented: “This alliance further demonstrates our commitment and seriousness to restore the confidence of all travellers to travel, that their health and safety is our number one priority. We are committed to ensuring that our customers will Every touch point brings back an unforgettable Malaysian hospitality experience. What’s more, all our current staff are fully vaccinated.
I am delighted to share that we are seeing a positive trend in advance bookings, reflecting customer confidence in the recently launched Langkawi Travel Bubble. This positive development has resulted in a more than 500% increase in our domestic flight bookings, the highest ever recorded since Langkawi reopened. We believe that the formation of more travel bubbles in key markets will help revitalize air travel, while helping to boost the socioeconomics of those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. ”
Malaysia Airlines currently flies to 58 countries within its network and through our alliances oneAs a world® and airline codeshare partner, Malaysia Airlines will once again provide exceptional connectivity, offering seamless journeys to 1,000 destinations in over 150 countries.
