THE Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) is integrating technology into tourism with an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered travel platform “MATTA Online”, a marketplace for tour operators and tourists.
Matta and its technology partner Fusionex Group collaborated to create the platform, which makes use of the latter’s technology to bring users into a seamless online travel booking space.
Matta Online will serve the needs of both local and international travellers who are looking for great travel experience when planning their vacation in Malaysia.
It connects tourists with Matta members comprising travel agents and tour operators for hotels, airlines, attractions, theme parks and other tourism providers.
Matta president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said this pioneering effort is to support small and medium enterprise (SME) travel agents while utilising technology as a key driver of the country’s tourism economy.
“The majority of the travel agencies and operators have very limited resources at their disposal, and Matta Online is here to better position the SMEs to rapidly grow their travel businesses.
“The platform would enable Matta members to reach up to 16.29 million Malaysians, as well as target a global consumer audience,” he said during the launch yesterday.
He added that as of yesterday, more than 300 unique packages, and over 150 travel agents and tour operators have registered with the platform.
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“We expect to hit our target of 300 agents on board with more than 3,000 packages on sale by the end of the year,” Tan said.
Meanwhile, Fusionex CEO Datuk Seri Ivan Teh said the platform serves the best needs of both travellers and operators while complimenting the digital lifestyle of consumers.
“Recently, we have also seen the shifts in shopping habits and behaviour of the younger generation who are more comfortable and accustomed to shopping online rather than making physical purchases.
“This is where Matta Online comes in, being fully digital and giving access to seamless and most affordable travel needs for users while winning their spending power,” he said.
As for the merchants, Teh said additions will be done in stages as the platform welcomes all the merchants regardless of their niche to come on board.
“By joining us, merchants will be able to gain deep insights, monitor and measure key performance metrics in real-time through the AI-powered technology,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said Matta best serves the needs of industry players as they start to execute their business planning in line with the reopening of borders.
“This is also timely with Malaysians’ increased demand for overseas and domestic travel,” she said at the launch.
Apart from Motac, the initiative is also supported by Tourism Malaysia, Penang Global Tourism and the Malaysian Aviation Group.
“We have a lot to do but if we work together, strategically and creatively, we can bring Malaysia back as a top 10 travel destination in the world,” Nancy said.
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