On 7 April 2011, the Tourism Malaysia office, The Hague had organized a small networking reception at the Malaysia Restaurant Kuala Lumpur in Antwerp. Mr. Ikram Mohammad Ibrahim, Chargé d'Affaires, ad interim was invited as Guest of Honour. More than 30 people were invited and present at the reception namely tour operators (Malaysian, Dutch and Belgian), Belgians who had visited Malaysia, Vice President of the Malaysian Association of Belgium and Luxembourg and University of Antwerp students.
In his opening speech, Mr. Rosman Ahmad, Director of Tourism Office, Embassy of Malaysia in The Netherlands informed the guests that for the past year there had been an 13.8% increase in the number of tourists from Belgium to Malaysia. He also informed that the Homestay programme promoted by Tourism Malaysia had been well received by mainly Dutch tourists as they usually travel with their family. Belgian tourists mostly scout for a more family-friendly and value-for-money holiday packages and the Homestay programme is an attractive option for the Belgian market. Annual programmes like the Shoe Festival, Colours of Malaysia, Sepang F1 Grand Prix were also highlighted by Mr. Rosman.
In his remarks, the Chargé d'Affaires, ad interim of the Embassy, expressed hope that the networking established during the event would help to further promote Malaysia as a value-for-money destination amongst Belgians and would encourage more Belgians to visit Malaysia. For the tour operators, he expressed hope that they will share their views with Tourism Malaysia on measures that could further boost Belgian tourists arrival in Malaysia.