KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Fair, Malaysia's largest travel fair, will make a comeback on Nov 20-21 after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The last edition of the Matta Fair was held in September 2019.
Its honorary secretary general Nigel Wong said Matta was looking forward to the domestic tourism kick-off to help jump-start the economy, adding that the travel fair is one of the ways to do it.
"The fair that will be held at the World Trade Centre (WTC) Kuala Lumpur will be participated by international tourism organisations namely Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Japan, Turkey and Uganda to continue to promote their markets for international tourism," he said in an online press conference today.
Meanwhile, Matta chief executive officer Phua Tai Neng in a statement said the 49th edition of Matta Fair will be held on a smaller scale and will occupy Hall 3 and 4 of the WTC.
"Hall 4 is known as Malaysia Hall where nearly all state tourism organisations and domestic travel and tourism products will be available. Most of the international tourism players will be in Hall 3," he said.
Phua said the fair has received strong support from state tourism organisations, especially Sabah, Terengganu, Sarawak, Pahang, Selangor, Johor, Kedah, Perak and Negri Sembilan.
He said, after 21 months of lockdown that severely affected the travel and tourism industry, the Matta Fair is a significant indicator that the country's tourism industry is back and will gradually be revived for people to travel domestically and very soon internationally as borders will eventually reopen.
Matta is collaborating with Legoland as its partner theme park as well as with a licensed e-hailing company, GOJO.
He urged visitors not to bring young children to the fair as advised by the Health Ministry.
"Admission is free and the fair is open from 10am to 8pm," he added.
Meanwhile, Legoland Malaysia Resort sales and marketing director Thila Munusamy said it will be offering Matta Fair visitors exclusive discounts and family-friendly holiday packages.
"This year, attendees who purchase more than three triple park passes at the fair are eligible to receive a free exclusive train set. Customers who purchase more than five triple park passes will receive an additional exclusive castle set," she said. – BERNAMA