After London in 2013 and Istanbul in 2014, Malaysia has chosen Paris, place du Palais Royal, in front of the Louvre Museum, to set up its village and podium for one week. On this culturally symbolical location of Paris, the ‘Asian tiger’ is giving Parisians the pleasant opportunity to discover the various facets of its tourism, cultural and gastronomic heritage.
Malaysia has set up an ephemeral village in the heart of Paris, place du Palais Royal, in front of the Louvre Museum, 13-17 April 2015.
During a press conference preceding the inauguration of the village, H.E. Tan Sri Ismail Omar, Ambassador of Malaysia to France, stressed how much his country was respectful of the various communities, cultures and religions coexisting in the country.
Located in the center of the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia enjoys a strategic geographic position and a tropical climate all year long.
13 States, 3 federal territories and a population of over 28 million give it an extraordinary diversity of landscapes and cultures.
There are notably some of the most ancient Asian civilizations (Malay, Chinese and Indian), as well as native people in Sabah and Sarawak.
Shows and food tasting between Palais Royal and Louvre Museum
Furthermore, the Ambassador highlighted the importance of tourism in his country’s economy. In 2013, Malaysia welcomed 25.7 million visitors, making tourism the major economic sector in terms of foreign trade and the 6th largest contributor to the gross national income.
The goal is to attract 36 million tourists by 2020.
In 2014, France was the second largest market in Europe (behind the United Kingdom) with 165,000 visitors, up by 7% compared to 2013. For the first time it was ahead of the German market.
Worldwide France is the ninth largest market. It is expected to confirm its ranking and even improve it by one or two notches.
French travel agencies are preparing for it. There are about twenty of them today, while, just two years ago, they could be counted on the fingers of one hand. The cultural week is open to the public.
On place du Palais Royal, Malaysia will be presenting cultural shows, as well as cooking demonstrations of its famous cuisine.
On the podium, the Parisians will have the opportunity to admire traditional dances and music, as well as children’s dances.
Throughout the stalls, they will also have the opportunity to discover the diversity of the country’s tourism regions and thus get new ideas of travel and/or buy some of the famous Malaysian textiles (batik and Songket).
Michèle Sani - TOURMAG MAGAZINE - 14 APRIL 2015