MALAYSIA TO HOST WORLD TOURISM CONFERENCE 2013

The Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Malaysia together with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the State Government of Melaka will be organising the World Tourism Conference 2013 at the Equatorial Hotel in Melaka from 21 to 23 October 2013.

Themed “Global Tourism: Game Changers and Pace Setters”, the conference is expected to bring together world leaders in tourism, high-level policymakers, specialists and experts from both the public and private sectors to share experiences, put forward valuable ideas and provide guidance for tourism development.

The main objectives of World Tourism Conference 2013 are to discuss and address current and relevant issues related to the tourism industry. The key areas for discussion will be:

• Beyond Mass Tourism: how destinations can prosper with higher yield markets by capitalising on niche products which are priced correctly and targeted to the right markets.
• Innovative Marketing: the importance of creating innovative products and a strong brand identity to develop dynamism and continuous progress in the industry.
• Directions for Tourism Product Development: exploring the potential of tourism products such as homestay and its variants, domestic tourism, as well as youth and Gen-Y travellers, and synergies between conservation and commercial viability.

Over the three-day conference, 10 specific and topical subjects will be presented by authoritative individuals and acknowledged experts including the Head of Travel Google (United States) Mr Rob Torres, the Chief Executive Officer of Korea Tourism Organisation (South Korea) Mr. Lee Charm, the Chairman of VisitBritain (United Kingdom) Mr. Christopher Rodrigues CBE, the Vice-Chairman of China National Tourism Administration (China) Mr Du Jiang, the Chief Executive Officer of Air Asia X Sdn Bhd (Malaysia) Mr. Azran Osman Rani and the Managing Director of Tourism Australia Mr Andrew McEvoy.

Being one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Malaysia, Melaka is the perfect venue to host WTC 2013. This historic city has developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the town with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. In brief, Melaka has a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.

For more information, visit http://www.wtc2013malaysia.com .

For more information on travel to Malaysia, visit www.tourism.my.

- END-

For more information, please contact:
Representation Plus
Edith Meyer
Email: edith@representationplus.co.uk
Tel: 020 8877 4510


Notes to editors:

•  In 2014, Malaysia will celebrate its fourth VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR (VMY) with the theme “Celebrating 1Malaysia Truly Asia”. The VMY 2014 promotional campaign has started this year with a series of year-long special events and activities leading to VMY 2014. It will contribute to the Government’s target to receive 36 million tourist arrivals and RM168 billion in receipts by 2020, as outlined in the Malaysia Tourism Transformation Plan (MTTP) 2020.
• Malaysia has a tropical climate and is a very welcoming multi-cultural society home to some of the best spa resorts in the world.