Kuala Lumpur, 26 May 2016: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) organized its first Muslim Travel Dialogue on 26th May 2016 at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur.
About 130 MATTA members who participated in the session were given presentation by representatives from organisations involved in Halal Industry and Muslim tourism. The speakers were:
1.Mr Syaiful Zafri Aziz – General Manager of Halal Industry Development Corporation
2.Mr Zulkifly Ms Said – Director General of Islamic Tourism Centre
3.Mr Park Chul Hyun – Managing Director of Korea Tourism Organization
4.Ms Susan Maria Ong – Deputy Director of Japan National Tourism Organization
5.Mr Richard Lim – Marketing Manager Malaysia & Brunei of Tourism of Thailand
6.Dato Baharom Mohd Yatim – General Manager of Macao Government Tourism Office
7.Mr Taufan Rahmadi – Member of Indonesia Acceleration Halal Tourism Development Team ; The Ministry Of Tourism of Indonesia And Chairman Of West Nusa Tenggara Tourism Promotion Board
The session was conducted in response to the rapid growth of Halal tourism in Malaysia travel industry. The dialogue was to support MATTA members with better understanding of Halal tourism, the needs and expectations, and to promote the development of Muslim travel or Halal tourism products to a higher level in the market.
‘Muslim travelers travel with family members, stay for a longer period and spend more money in their holidays. For these reasons tourism brands across the world are adapting their services to meet the needs of these Muslim guests. MATTA Muslim Travel Dialogue is organized for members to learn and grab every opportunity to understand on what is needed in this game of selling Muslim Travel products,’ said Chairman of MATTA Government Liaison / Muslim Travel , Dato’ Hj Yaacob Hj Hussin.
Members had the opportunity to discuss on Muslim compliance travel packages, and exchange information with industry players to get more ideas to enhance their Muslim travel or Halal tourism products businesses.
MATTA Deputy President Rohizam Md Yusoff said, ‘the main purpose of this dialogue is to expose MATTA members with the needs and expectations of Muslims Travelers to the world and at the same time helping them to develop attractive Islamic tour packages. Therefore, it helps the members to embrace every opportunity to tap into this growing market.’
MATTA Muslim Travel Dialogue received sponsorship from Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Tourism Indonesia and Islamic Tourism Centre.