Philippine Tourism Gets Malaysia Boost

MANILA, Philippines — The “It’s more fun in the Philippines” fever has officially reached Kuala Lumpur, thanks to the successful launching of the Philippine Tourism Fair in Malaysia on Friday, the Philippine Embassy in the Malaysian capital said.

The Embassy relayed to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila that the Tourism Fair was “launched with a bang” at the Lower Ground Concourse Area of the Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur.

 “Taking to heart the new Philippine tourism slogan, “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” the launch featured performances from dance groups Sinulog Dancers and Indak Turismo and band Velocity, booths showcasing Philippine tourism sites and offering special tour packages to the Philippines, a treasure hunt, and raffle contests,” the DFA said, citing information from the Embassy.

National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Committee Head on Visual Arts and visual artist Nemi Miranda, Jr. was one of the guests during the event, and did spot sketches of the proceedings.

In his speech, Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Eduardo Malaya said in the light of the renaissance in Philippines-Malaysia relations, as well as more airlines serving the route, it is also high time for Malaysian tourists to discover why “it’s more fun in the Philippines.”

 “The holding of this First Philippine Tourism Fair in Malaysia is most timely in light of the increased number of airline flights between the Philippines and Malaysia, with the entries of Airphil Express and AirAsia Philippines and of Zest Air and MASwing in October as well as the planned joint promotion of Philippine and Malaysian destinations by our respective tourism ministries,” he said.

“All these are most exciting as these create additional opportunities not only for our countries, the Philippines and Malaysia, to help grow each other’s tourism industries, but more importantly for Malaysians and Filipinos to visit each other’s country and get to know each other better. After all, we’re close-by neighbors and partners in ASEAN. May this tourism fair be an avenue for our Malaysian neighbors and friends to discover why, as our tourism slogan would say, ‘it’s more fun in the Philippines’,” he added.

Also present during the launch were Tourism Representative for Malaysia Melissa Ong, Department of Tourism (DOT) Group Head for North America and Asia Pacific Director Ma Corazon Jorda-Apo, DOT Regional Director for Eastern Visayas Rowena Su Montecillo, DOT Regional Director for Central Luzon Ronaldo Tiotuico, DOT OIC-Regional Director for Central Visayas lawyer Helen Catalbas and World Travel Group President Tunku Iskandar.

Participating airlines included Cebu Pacific, AirPhilExpress, ZestAir, Air Asia, as well as tour operators LT Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd, YL Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd, Travel Dynamics Sdn Bhd, and Borneo Tours Sdn Bhd, Discourse Team Sdn Bhd, Destination Specialists Cebu, and Pearl Farm Resorts, among others.

The Tourism Fair is expected to draw crowds over the weekend, with families frequenting the Berjaya Times Square for their weekly recreational activities. The fair, which will run until July 22, is a joint promotional campaign by the Embassy, the DOT and Berjaya Times Square.

Sourced: mb.com