Tourism Malaysia Targets Kiwis With Launch Of New Auckland Office

Malaysia is proving to be the hot new destination for adventure seeking New Zealanders with the number of arrivals soaring by 47 percent from April to June compared to the same time last year.

With these vastly increased figures for Q2 (22,641 in 2011 compared to 15,413 in 2010), it is clear that Tourism Malaysia is setting New Zealand tourists in its sights with the official launch of its new international office in Auckland this week.

Tourism Malaysia wants to further strengthen the position of Malaysia as a preferred holiday destination in this market and to see marked growth in the number of visitor numbers coming from New Zealand.

Malaysia is fast becoming a popular country for Kiwis to visit with 66,152 New Zealanders visiting last year, an increase of five percent from 63,004 in 2009. In 2011, Tourism Malaysia has an increased target of 73,000 Kiwi arrivals so the opening of the new office is a timely one.

Tourism Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Dato Dr. James Dawos Mamit, will officiate the office opening.

Dato Mamit says Malaysia faces competition from more traditional ‘Kiwi’ holiday destinations such as Australia and the Pacific Islands but it has become more attractive because of its easy accessibility and a favourable exchange rate which makes it a value-for-money destination.

The recent launch of low cost carriers including JetStar from Auckland and AirAsia from Christchurch to Kuala Lumpur is making visiting Malaysia more affordable for New Zealanders.

“Maintaining Malaysia’s arrival growth in the face of such competition will involve more education, more tourism, segment-based differentiation and delivery of quality experiences.

“Our presence here in New Zealand will undoubtedly forge stronger ties between the two nations and help us make closer connections within New Zealand’s vibrant and exciting travel industry, including the trade, media, governmental and private sectors,” he says.

Buoyed by the solid growth in the New Zealand market, Tourism Malaysia will further strengthen its promotional and marketing efforts with airline partners, tour operators and key industry players.

These campaigns will focus on promoting Malaysia’s main tourism products such as parks and gardens, shopping, eco-tourism, homestay, diving and golf.

Tourism Malaysia will also use major events and festivals as a way to encourage New Zealanders to visit Malaysia in 2012. These include the Fabulous Food 1Malaysia Festival, Malaysia International Shoe Festival 2012 and Malaysia’s shopping campaign which comprises of three annual sale events; the Malaysia GP Sale (MGP Sale), Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival (MMSC) and the Malaysia year End Sale (M-YES).

With the recent waiver of import duties on almost 300 goods valued at over $80-90, it offers a great shopping experience for tourists.

“Moving forward, we’re looking forward to building and maintaining close relationships with trade and becoming more accessible in terms of providing information and resources on Malaysia.

“We plan to host a series of road shows around the country to up-skill travel agents and will also continue to follow our media and trade famil programme so journalists and agents to become ambassadors for Malaysia,” says Dato Mamit.

Tourism Malaysia will continue to elevate Malaysia as a truly world-class tourism destination by continued branding of Malaysia through the “Malaysia Truly Asia” campaign.

Tourism Malaysia has targeted four specific markets within New Zealand:

1. Young Affluents – aged 25 to 35 with relatively high disposable incomes. This group likes adventure and visiting new destinations as well as enjoying a variety of experiences including nightlife, beaches, shopping, sports and arts and culture.
2. Older Affluents – aged 40 and above with high disposable incomes who enjoy the finer things in life – often empty nesters. They like to travel to new places for new experiences and combine these in one holiday e.g. arrive in Kuala Lumpur for shopping, go to Langkawi to relax and enjoy an eco-experience in Borneo.

3. Families – often with parents aged 30 to 40 with higher disposable income, travel regularly with children and enjoy visiting places with a safe environment.

4. Influencers/stakeholders from the airlines, advertising and business tourism industries, film and television production companies and government organisations.

KEY FACTS
• 35,756 New Zealanders visited Malaysia from January – June 2011 compared to 29,662 for the same period in 2010
• Travellers from New Zealand to Malaysia have nearly doubled in the last five years (33,846 in 2005 to 63,004 in 2009).
• Tourism Malaysia has a target of 73,000 arrivals from New Zealand and an ALOS (average length of stay) of 10 days (an increased from 9.5 in 2010)
• Malaysia registered 24.6 million tourist arrivals and RM56.5 billion (USD18 billion) in tourist receipts last year.
• Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia X offer direct air accessibility from Auckland and Christchurch to Kuala Lumpur with 10 flights and 3,482 seats each week.
• Jetstar, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways, and Singapore Airlines fly daily to Kuala Lumpur from Auckland with 10,885 seats per week
• The amount of money spent by New Zealand travellers in Malaysia has increased per head by 12%
• While 40% of New Zealand travellers are visiting family and friends, more than 36% of travellers are on holiday; nearly 14% are there on business and the remainder as part of conferences. Tourism Malaysia will be focusing on the valuable VFR market (Visiting Friends & Relatives) for the New Zealand market.

For more information www.tourismmalaysia.co.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media