MATTA signs MOU with European Tour and Travel Agency Associations at ITB Berlin

Thursday, March 9, 2023

The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) signed Memorandums of Understanding with three European Tour and Travel Agency Associations here today at ITB Berlin marking a new level of cooperation between Malaysian tourism stakeholders and their European counterparts.

Memorandums were signed by MATTA President Tan Kok Liang and the Presidents of the following European associations:

• Anne-Marjut Väänänen, President of the Association of Finnish Travel Industry (SMAL)

• Pawel Niewiadomski, President of the Polish Chamber of Tourism (PIT)

• Kulli Karing, President of the Estonian Travel and Tourism Association (ETFL)

The signing was witnessed by:

• H.E. Dr. Adina Kamarudin (Ambassador of Malaysia to the German Republic)

• The Honorable Mdm. Christina Liew (Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah)

• The Honorable Mr. Loh Tze Yee (Perak State Executive Council of Tourism, Industry, Investment and Corridor Development)

• The Honorable Mr. Hee Loy Sian (Selangor State Executive Council of Tourism & Environment)

The memorandums, which places sustainable tourism as the centre of future growth, also focuses on enhancing consumer awareness of Malaysia as a safe and attractive holiday destination to the Polish, Finnish and Estonian markets.

This agreement with the global travel agency associations builds on and deepens the existing collaboration between the organizations to keep geared towards restoring travel to consumers.

Tan said that they are excited at the prospect of working very closely with their European counterparts to further develop inbound travel potential into Malaysia.

They will be developing new marketing and communication strategies to meet the demands for high-value tourism products.

Southeast Asia is inexpensive for European travellers but costly and excessive airfares and limited connectivity are the biggest obstacles for those looking to travel to the region.

They hope that this renewed interest in Malaysia and the region will encourage airlines to establish more direct routes.

MATTA, which has participated independently at ITB Berlin since 2018, has negotiated several Memorandums of Understanding with counterparts from high-potential source markets and is a member of the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations (ECTAA).

He added that their participation in ITB Berlin and our commitment to the European market strongly underlines their sustainable tourism strategy, which we believe will be key to the future of our nation, its people and their economy on the long term.

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