By
Rebecca Gibson |
The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) has teamed up with the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) to further develop the cruise tourism sector in Malaysia.
The two organisations will promote cruising as a holiday choice to Malaysians, seeking to increase the country’s passenger source market, which almost doubled in 2017 according to the CLIA’s Asia Cruise Trends Report 2018. They will also promote the destination to international cruise lines, which made a total of 599 calls to Malaysian ports last year, up from 435 in 2016. By 2020, it is expected that these operators will make an average of 628 annual calls.
“The strategic cooperation between both associations will focus on the development and sustainable growth of the cruise tourism in Malaysia through education and awareness to members, thus uplifting the domestic socio-economic activities and growth of the tourism industry,” said Datuk Tan Kok Liang, president of MATTA. “Members from both associations will be able to leverage on each other's technical knowledge, expertise and experience for expansion and growth. We are optimistic that this strategic cooperation will create favourable conditions for the continuous growth of the cruise tourism in Malaysia and enhance members business offerings and services to consumers.”
Tan signed the official memorandum of understanding (MoU) alongside Andy Harmer, CLIA’s senior vice president of membership and director of CLIA UK & Ireland, at the World Travel Market in London. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia.
“The signing of this MoU would align the efforts of CLIA and MATTA to create exciting opportunities that will benefit the cruise industry,” said Joel Katz, managing director of CLIA Australasia and Asia. “We look forward to working together with MATTA to promote the growth of cruise tourism in Malaysia.”