Tourism Australia has announced the promotion of Karen Saw from her role as Business Development Manager to Country Manager Malaysia, where she will take the lead in driving Tourism Australia’s local market strategy.
In her new role, Karen is responsible for aligning the marketing and promotion of Australian tourism in Malaysia with Tourism Australia’s strategy. She will also be driving tactical conversion with aviation and distribution partners to target leisure consumers and Business Events opportunities.
Karen will continue to work closely with key stakeholders, from government departments and State Tourism Offices to airlines and industry partners, to develop products and experiences that drive tourism growth into Australia from Malaysia
Karen joined Tourism Australia in 2009 as a Marketing Executive supporting PR, distribution, partnerships, trade events, and corporate services activities. She then took on the role of Business Development Manager in 2015, where she successfully developed and grew commercial partnerships and a distribution network in Malaysia.
Prior to joining Tourism Australia, Karen worked for five years with MSL Travel (one of the few travel agencies distributing Australia road trip itineraries at the time), where she fostered a passion for Australia as a destination.
Commenting on the milestone, Tourism Australia’s South and Southeast Asia Regional General Manager, Brent Anderson, said Karen has not only demonstrated strong market knowledge over her extensive tenure, but also established herself as an expert on Australia as a tourism destination and what it can offer to Malaysian leisure and business travellers.
“At Tourism Australia, we believe in providing opportunities for growth and role expansion, especially for our long-standing employees who have delivered outstanding results. Karen has led some of the best-performing partnerships with airlines and key distribution partners and has spearheaded effective conversion campaigns even while travel borders were closed during the pandemic. With Malaysia being our eighth largest source country[1], we look forward to Karen leading our new strategy and growing demand for Australia tourism in Malaysia,” said Mr Anderson.
Karen says she is excited to start what she expects to be an even busier year in her new role. The easing of travel restrictions back in 2022 has seen a surge in enquiries and bookings, and consumer travel sentiment increasing with passport applications and renewal seeing high demand.
Karen added, “Australia always stood out to me for its diverse range of experiences. It has been such a rewarding adventure to build Malaysia’s affinity for Australia as a destination over the years. I am optimistic that Australia will continue to sit high on the list of Malaysian travellers’ top destinations, and I am excited to continue to be a part of this growth.”