SEPANG: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today launched the 'Visit Malaysia 2020' official campaign logo at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
The logo, part of the campaign’s marketing and promotional efforts, features various recognisable icons of Malaysia such as the hornbill, the bunga raya (hibiscus), the wild fern and colours of the Malaysian flag.
Together, they represent the diversity of Malaysia’s culture, heritage, flora and fauna as well as experiences offered as a holiday destination. The tagline for the campaign is: Visit Truly Asia Malaysia 2020.
Twenty-three-old Alfred Pua, a graphic designer from Melaka, was chosen as the winner of the logo contest, among hundreds of submissions from all over Malaysia.
He was presented with a certificate of appreciation.
The new logo would replace the old logo which was launched by previous Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz at the side-lines of Asean Tourism Forum in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The old logo received much criticism following its mediocre looking design, which was modelled after a postage stamp and featured the Petronas Twin Towers, an orang utan hugging a proboscis monkey, and a turtle donning sunglasses at the beach, with the tagline ‘Travel. Enjoy. Respect’.
At the event, Dr Mahathir also witnessed the exchange of Memorandum of Joint Promotion ceremony between Tourism Malaysia and various parties, namely Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Firefly, Malindo Air, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad and Sharp (M) Electronics Sdn. Bhd.
After this, the premier will also witness the unveiling of the Visit Malaysia 2020 aircraft livery on the four airlines at the Bunga Raya Complex.
The year 2020 has been designated as Visit Malaysia 2020 year which targets an estimated 30 milion tourist arrivals and RM100 billion tourist receipts. The focus of the campaign is on ecotourism, arts and culture.
To ensure the campaign’s success, Tourism Malaysia has partnered with several private sector corporations such as Sharp (M) Electronics Sdn Bhd, Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Firefly, Malindo Air and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, to implement marketing and promotional activities utilising their local and international media platforms.
In addition, a RM5 million fund called GAMELAN Malaysia has been made available to provide financial support to Malaysian tourism industry players who organize marketing and promotional activities to promote Malaysia as a business and leisure destination.
Last year, Malaysia welcomed 25.8 million international tourists, while for the first five months of this year, international tourist arrivals have reached close to 11 million tourists, recording a growth of 4.8 per cent compared to the same period last year.