RM20 million sales in MATTA’s Wuhan tourism trip
KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Sabah Chapter’s industrial trip to Wuhan, China, between March 27 and 30 was a great success with sales estimated more than RM20 million in the coming 12 months.
Twenty-one Sabah top inbound tour operators based in Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan participated in the trip led by Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai.
Tourism Malaysia through its Shanghai office hosted a one-day business-to-business (B2B) networking session and a lunch with 20 of Wuhan’s top selling agents for Sabah market on March 28.
During the B2B, Sabah Tourism Board senior marketing manager Tay Shu Lan did a 15-minute product presentation on Sabah.
MATTA Sabah Chapter chairman Robert Chong said the objective of the trip was to promote Sabah as the latest destination linking Wuhan and Kota Kinabalu direct by AirAsia on a daily basis.
Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province, with 10 million population is only four hours away by flight to Kota Kinabalu, and offers a huge market for MATTA members.
According to a Wuhan’s top travel agent representative, Sabah is long known to them and is one of their top selling and a favourite destination for the Chinese holiday makers.
They like Sabah, in particular the islands near Kota Kinabalu which are easily accessible.
They like our food; our fresh seafood according to them is cheap and easily available. Diving and snorkeling are among their favorite activities while in Sabah.
Generally the agents in Wuhan are happy with Sabah tourism products. However, they are hopeful that one day, visa free will become a reality so that the Chinese tourists will not face any hassle in applying for visa to enter Malaysia.