Tourism Selangor, the Selangor State’s Official Tourism Promotion Agency, joined a series of visits to Moscow, Tashkent, Almaty and Istanbul to assist Tourism Malaysia in its goal to attract more tourists from Russia and Turkiye while preserving the bilateral ties. The visits took place for ten days, from 11th September until 20th September 2022.
The mission was led by the Honourable Mr. Hee Loy Sian, the Tourism and Environment Executive Committee and assisted by Mr. Azrul Shah bin Mohamad the Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Selangor. The mission showcased a wide range of market segmentation in Selangor while promoting the “Splendid Selangor, Take Me Anywhere!” Campaign.
As of 2021, there was a 13.0% (231,914) increase in tourists from European countries visiting Selangor compared to the previous year during travel restrictions. Hence, this is the ideal time for Selangor to resume its pre-pandemic growth, particularly for International travellers, as the travel ban was lifted.
According to the Honourable Mr. Hee Loy Sian, Tourism and Environment Executive Committee, the Splendid Selangor campaign is a significant effort and a turning point to increase cooperation between the interested nations. The collaboration will involve prospective partnerships via FAM trips with media and travel agencies, cross-promotion series including advertising and digital campaigns, roadshows, and sales missions.
Selangor’s wide range of segmentation provides abundant tourism attractions, from eco-tourism, theme parks, cultural and heritage to splendid shopping and leisure experiences. This includes the Sunway Lagoon theme park, Fireflies Park in Kampung Kuantan, Mah Meri Cultural Village and Avani Sepang Gold Coast Resort.
Through the Truly Malaysia Roadshow in Moscow, the Tourism Selangor delegation was able to meet with a few travel businesses. Key players such as Evren SATIR, Ozan Ates, and Gokhan Ustunday were also involved during the mission. The tour companies are currently organising their trips to Malaysia through Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways as connecting flights.
“Previously, Russian tourists flew from Singapore to Malaysia. We are prepared to take charters from Russians to the Malaysian state of Selangor after this mission and eager to draw more Russians to the state,” said the Honourable Mr. Hee Loy Sian, Tourism and Environment Executive Committee of Selangor.
Tourism Selangor is ready to tap into extensive partnerships with tourism operators and industry players while gearing up its awareness to elevate the mission to be a prominent travel destination in Southeast Asia and globally.