Malaysia eyes ?incentive travellers? from Qatar
| Published: Monday, 19 March, 2007, |
At the workshop (from left) are Tourism Malaysia officials Premmy Michael, Chew Kim Choi, Syed Muhadzir Jamallulil, Ambassador Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, Zulkefli Haji Sharif and Norizan a Karim
By Arvind Nair 
BUOYED by its success in wooing leisure traffic, Malaysia is now eyeing incentive travellers. Currently, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) traffic to Malaysia is very low, Zulkefli Haji Sharif, director of convention division of Tourism Malaysia, told Gulf Times.
Sharif is leading a delegation on a tour of the region to conduct workshops in a bid to attract MICE operators. After attending an incentive exhibition in Dubai, the team is in Doha. From here, the delegation moves to Kuwait.
MICE travel will not clash with leisure business, Sharif said. This is because incentive travel usually takes place at lean periods, he added.
?Qatar is a developing country with regard to outbound travel. It has very good potential as more Qataris are exploring the world for conference venues.?
There has been a rise in the number leisure travellers from Qatar and last year they numbered 9,000, he said.
?Malaysia offers several wild class venues for big conventions or small regional meetings. Convention centres with adjacent 5-star hotels or resorts and shopping centres/theme parks are highly popular choices. Among the popular venues are the Malaysia International Exhibition & Convention Centre at the Mines Resort City, the Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel and Convention Centre and Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre,? he said.
?However, there are also convention centres like the Premier Putra World Trade Centre located in the heart of the city,? Sharif said.
The country offers ?all sorts of assistance? for big and small meetings. This includes the selection of venues and operators, and hassle-free arrival formalities, he said. Free giveaways are offered too. In addition, special cultural performances can also be organised.
Visa is available to most people now, including Indians and Chinese, he added.
?We have a unique culture - a melting pot for Indian, Chinese and Indonesian traditions. We all live harmoniously. We celebrate all religious festivals - Diwali and Taipuzham of Hindus, Eid of Muslims, Christmas of Christians and the Chinese New Year.?
Malaysia is also attractive in terms of cost, he said. A hotel room is available for QR200, while a 5-star facility could be had for QR400 to QR800, he said.
The country also has jungles that are 130mn years old - one of the oldest in the world, he said.
Malaysia is celebrating Visit Malaysia year, to mark the 50th anniversary of its independence. There are more than 200 programmes spread across the year. These include Eye on Malaysia, Petronas Malaysian F1 Grand Prix, Colours of Malaysia, Malaysia International Aerospace Exhibition, Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival and Malaysia International Fireworks Competition.
MICE business is more lucrative compared to leisure tourism, he said.
The workshop was also attended by Malaysian Ambassador Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari.