Bitten by the travel bug
People come from afar seeking good deals at the MATTA Fair.
KUALA LUMPUR: The first day of the MATTA Fair March 2018 opened its doors to a stream of visitors, with some queueing up as early as an hour before it officially kicked off.
With the start of the one-week school holidays, many of the visitors travelled from other states to look for deals at the fair, which at 1,350 booths, is the largest in its 27-year history.
Harjit Singh, a 32-year-old photographer, travelled all the way from Seremban with his fiancée to the fair at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), hoping to get a good holiday package for December.
“This is the largest travel fair in Malaysia. That’s why it is worth for us to travel here. We are looking at destinations in Asia and Europe,” he said.
Retiree Lawrence Teh, 64, said he was looking for tour packages to Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam and Xian, China.
“Since I have retired, I travel annually and I come to MATTA fair every year to look for good deals. So far, my wife and I have two travel agencies in mind,” he said.
Idayu, a 26-year-old teacher, said she was looking at tour packages to South Korea after being inspired by K-dramas.
“I wish to go to Jeju Island with my husband and my baby girl dur- ing the school holidays in November,” she said, adding that she was fascinated by the scenery in Jeju Island from Korean movies.
Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) CEO Phua Tai Neng said tickets went on sale at about 9.45am yesterday.
“The fair starts from 10am. We started selling tickets at 9.45am but visitors were already queueing at 9am,” Neng told reporters, adding,
the fair also saw augmented reality (AR) technology being used for the first time to promote the products.
Top Media Resources Sdn Bhd managing director Amelia Au said besides promoting the products, visitors could also see themselves standing next to Spiderman, dinosaur or Bumblebee from Transformers appearing on the large LED screen at the main stage via the technology.
“They can take a snapshot and upload on social media to share the AR experience with their friends,” she said, adding it was also distributing the special supplement with AR features at the fair,” she said.
“You can scan the AR feature using the eMATTA AR mobile app. Through your phone, you will see some parts of the page turned into videos, visualising the information they read on the supplement.”
Visitors can also play eMATTA games “hidden” in nine buntings at different booths to win cash and prizes.
“They can scan the buntings and play AR games, winning cash prizes of up to RM1,000,” said e-intro Technology Solutions Sdn Bhd executive director David Soh, whose company had developed the game.
At the Royal Caribbean Cruises (Asia) Pte Ltd booth, visitors searching for cruise holiday packages can choose from a range of deals from as low as RM888 per person to RM1.55mil for two.
“Our most affordable package starts from RM888, with the cruise departing from Singapore to Port Klang. There is also the high-end package where clients get to enjoy the luxurious double-storey suite in our latest ship,” said Nicole Lai, the head of marketing for Asia Pacific.
Malaysia Airlines Bhd chief commercial officer Arved Von Zur Muehlen said it was offering great deals of up to 50% off on selected routes.
“Sponsoring MATTA is not only about offering cheap fares but it is also about providing the opportunity for us to engage with travel agencies,” he said.
MATTA Fair will be held at PWTC until tomorrow.
Open from 10am to 9pm, admission is RM4 per person daily and free for children below 12.