PUTRAJAYA, 5 April 2023:
Tourism Malaysia has welcomed travel agents from Vientiane, Laos, on a 7-day,6-nights familiarisation trip (FAM Trip) last month – from March 19 to 25 – to tap into their interests in generating sales lead to Malaysia in highlighting Sabah as a new destination for the Lao market, including its floating resorts.
A total of 10 participants – comprising nine travel agents and a marketing representative from Tourism Malaysia Laos – joined this very first official FAM Trip to Malaysia since the Laos border reopening, co-hosted by Sabah Tourism Board, Columbia Leisure, Sky Mirror Kuala Selangor and Vivatel Kuala Lumpur.
Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Zainuddin Abdul Wahab said in a statement: “The enchanting floating resorts in Malaysia offer unique travel experiences and value-for-money destinations which we believe will appeal to the Lao people, especially for the beach and island lovers.
“In Sabah, Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort, Gayana Marine Resort and Mataking Resort are some of the sought-after floating resorts for a perfect vacation, not to mention Lexis Hibiscus in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan – a luxury beach resort offering idyllic view and world-class amenities.”
Other highlights of the new tourism products included the hidden gem of the beautiful Sky Mirror in Kuala Selangor and the Instagrammable spot of Saloma Link Bridge, apart from modern shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia welcomed 26,995 tourist arrivals from Laos in 2019. Currently, even though there is no direct flight from Laos to Malaysia, travellers can transit through Bangkok and fly to Kuala Lumpur or Sabah via Thai AirAsia or Thai Airways. Alternatively, they can enter Malaysia via the land route to Johor Bahru after boarding Scoot from Vientiane to Singapore.
Separately, with many across Asia and Australia looking forward to long weekends and holidays in the coming weeks, price-savvy travellers will be happy to learn that Agoda crunched the numbers to reveal the cheapest tourist destinations and in Malaysia, it’s Sibu, Sarawak.
The travel portal said in a statement that for April, Sibu is the most affordable tourist destination, with an average room rate of RM150 – with others in the top 5 being Alor Setar, Kuala Terengganu, Kota Bharu and Taiping respectively.
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