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27th September, 2007
KUALA LUMPUR: The Tourism Ministry will boost its marketing strategies to woo more Spanish tourists to Malaysia as the European country is a growing and important market for Malaysia to pursue.
“We’re very keen to promote local tourist destinations to visitors from Spain,” its secretary-general Datuk Dr Victor Wee said at the opening of the 18th Federation of Spanish Tourism Journalists and Tourism Writers (Fepet) International Congress here yesterday.
He said bilateral relations had been enhanced with the announcement by the Spanish government on the setting up of its Asean Business Centre in Kuala Lumpur to intensify investment activities in Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia.
Malaysia received 10,649 Spanish tourists in the first seven months of this year.
“Last year, 15,179 tourists from Spain visited Malaysia and it is hoped that the number will grow each year with the code-sharing arrangement between Malaysia Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines as well as collaboration between Tourism Malaysia and other airlines,” he added.
“We’re happy to see the interest shown by the Spanish trade and consumer sector as well as the publicity we’re getting in your country,” Dr Wee said, adding that Malaysia would participate in the Zaragoza Expo 2008 to showcase its wetlands.
He said as part of tourism promotional efforts, the ministry had implemented the Mega Familiarisation Programme for the media from all over the world.
He said the programme had generated RM46.8 million in publicity values between January and July involving 3,471 participants.
During that period, he said, Malaysia welcomed more than 12.4 million tourists, an increase of 23.9 per cent over the same period last year.
Meanwhile, Fepet president Mariano Palacin said Malaysia was chosen as the venue of the congress as the country had attractive tourist destinations.
“We’re holding the congress in Malaysia because there’re so many ideal tourist attractions here and it’s also in conjunction with Malaysia’s 50th independence celebrations,” he told Bernama.
More than 60 Spanish journalists and travel writers attended the one-day congress. Since their arrival last week, they have visited Langkawi and Batu Caves. Sabah is their next stop before returning home.
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