Three awards for Malaysia at ITB Berlin

PUTRAJAYA - Malaysia received three awards in Berlin, Germany, last week, a sweet reward to end a successful show at ITB 2015, one of the world’s most prestigious tourism trade events.

Malaysia took home the first prize in the print category of the Golden City Gate Awards for its advertisement that featured the country’s age-old wayang kulit theatre tradition.

The award-wining advertisement is part of Tourism Malaysia’s on-going advertising campaign to promote the Malaysia Year of Festivals (MyFest) 2015 which emphasizes the many cultural aspects celebrated by Malaysia’s diverse population. Aptly themed “Endless Celebrations”, the MyFest 2015 campaign has identified more than 200 exciting celebrations in its calendar of events for tourists to experience in Malaysia.

Tourism Malaysia also won the Most Innovative Chapter Award by Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) for its initiatives, leadership and commitment to community practices in sustainability, technology, connectivity, and education.

The third award Tourism Malaysia received was the second place as best Asian Tourism Board by Go Asia. Go Asia is a well-known organisation that serves as a promotional platform for Asian countries that have a tourism representation in German-speaking countries. Go Asia conducted the contest through a survey of its German travel advisors.

Datuk Dr. Ong Hong Peng, the Secretary General of Ministry of Tourism & Culture Malaysia, who led the Malaysian delegation to ITB 2015 said, “The awards are a wonderful recognition for the promotional efforts of the Ministry and the marketing campaigns we are doing here for Malaysia.”

Also present at ITB 2015, Dato’ Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, Director General of Tourism Malaysia said, “It’s great for Malaysia to be recognized. It will open up the eyes of the world to the rich culture and heritage we have in Malaysia.”

The awards wrapped up a great show for Malaysia and the 56 local organisations that made up the delegation at ITB 2015. During the trade show, the delegation had many appointments with trade visitors, major airlines, partners, media, and decision makers.

Tourism Malaysia also held an international press conference, a networking reception as well as the launching of Malaysia’s travel channel GOASEAN featuring tourism highlights of the ASEAN member states. The unique GOASEAN initiative, mooted by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak as the Chairman of ASEAN himself, is part of a joint ASEAN promotional campaign.

ITB Berlin, held from 4 to 8 March 2015, is the world's leading travel trade show connecting tourism buyers with destinations from around the globe. This year's show brought together 100,000 visitors and involved over 10,000 exhibitors from 190 countries showcasing their travel experiences, reflecting how intensely competitive the global travel industry is today.

Photo caption 1: Dato’ Dr. Ong Hong Peng, Secretary General of Ministry of Tourism & Culture Malaysia (middle) and Dato’ Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, Director General of Tourism Malaysia, accept the Most Innovative Chapter Award by Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) from PATA Chief Executive Officer, Mario Hardy.

Photo caption 2: The GOASEAN travel channel initiative was successfully launched at Malaysia Pavilion attended by 8 other ASEAN countries (except Brunei). Below are the names of the ASEAN NTOs representatives according to the picture. From left to right, representatives from: 1. Vietnam : H.E Le Dinh Chien, Secretary General , Vietnam Society of Travel Agents 2. Singapore : H.E Lawrence Leong, Assistant Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board 3. Myanmar : H.E U Htay Aung, Union Minister, Ministry of Hotels and Tourisms 4. Cambodia : H.E So Mara, Deputy Minister of Tourism 5. Malaysia : Datuk Dr. Ong Hong Peng, Secretary General of Tourism and Culture 6. Indonesia : H.E Esthy Reko Astuty, Director General of Tourism Marketing, Ministry of Tourism Indonesia 7. Laos : H.E Saly Phimphinith, Director General, Tourism Marketing Department 8. The Philippines : H.E Benito Bengzon, Undersecretary, Tourism Development Sector 9. Thailand : H.E Tirasan Iczz Sahatsapas, Executive Director Europe, Africa & Middle East

sourced:traveldailynews.asia