7,264 Qatari tourists visited Malaysia in 2013

Minister of Tourism and Culture of Malaysia Dato‘ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (centre) addresses the press conference. Also present are members of his delegation and the Malaysian ambassador to Qatar. PICTURE: Shaji.

By Salman Siddiqui/Staff Reporter

“Tourists from Qatar tend to spend longer a period of time than other tourists and also spend more. So obviously, we would like more and more people from Qatar to visit us,” he told a press conference.

The official said that the peak season for tourists from the region was in June, July and August, when people tend to escape the scorching heat to vacation in cooler spots.

“We are delighted to say that each year, we are observing a trend of more and more tourists from Qatar,” he said.

He also highlighted the fact that the coming Ramadan would provide a unique opportunity to tourists from Qatar, since Malaysia being a Muslim country would be making special arrangements to make Suhoors and Iftar a memorable experience.

The minister’s delegation was in Qatar to publicise the fourth Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014 and its comprehensive promotional activities in the Middle East.

The official met Chairman of Qatar Tourism Authority and CEO of Qatar Airways during his engagements in Qatar.

A special application for the iPad and iPhone designed to inform people about tourism opportunities in Malaysia was launched at the press conference.

Later, the minister also hosted a dinner to commemorate the ‘Visit Malaysia Year 2014 Evening’ which brought together a wide cross section of dignitaries and prominent Qataris.

Officials accompanying the minister told the media that Malaysia had also emerged as the world’s top Muslim-friendly holiday destination in a survey released in early 2013. The study by Singapore-based Muslim travel consultancy Crescentrating ranked countries on how well they cater to the growing number of Muslim holidaymakers seeking Halal, or Islam-compliant, food and services.

They added that last year, Tourism Malaysia won the ‘Best Global Tourism Advertising Campaign’ award at the 4th Middle East Business Leaders Awards 2013 in Abu Dhabi. The event was jointly organised by the Federation of GCC Chambers and The Leaders International. 

At the recent ITB Berlin, the world’s leading travel trade show, Tourism Malaysia’s video bagged the gold award at the 2014 Golden City Gate Tourism Media Awards. Its winning entry, ‘Malaysia Truly Asia – The Essence of Asia’, edged out other international entries in the Country category. In addition, the Malaysia Pavilion also won the Best Booth. The minister of tourism and culture Malaysia himself contributed to its design.