YB Wong Hon Wai with Ms Carolyn Leong at the press conference

By V. Sivaji

Lots of prizes and air tickets awaits potential winners at the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Fair Penang 2023 being held  from this Saturday, Sept 30 and Sunday, Oct 1, 2023 at the Setia SPICE Arena.

A record number of 261 booths are expected to offer their travel packages and other special offers at the fair. This is a significant increase of 70% compared to last year’s fair.

The fair has also drawn the interest of local and foreign tourism and travel agencies to offer attractive holiday packages for those planning their next get-away.

Among the foreign participants are the Taiwan Tourism Bureau and the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO).

Local state tourism representatives are KL Tourism Bureau, Sarawak Tourism Board, Perak Tourism, Tourism Melaka, Enchanting Sabah, Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), Tourism Pahang, Malacca Tourism Board among others..

State Exco for Tourism and Creative Economy YB Wong Hon Wai along with MATTA Penang chapter chairman, Ms Carolyn Leong were present at a press conference at Komtar to share further details on the event.

Also present was Penang Global Tourism chief executive officer, Ooi Chok Yan, Dato Khoo Boo Lim and John Kim (Malaysian Association of Hotels),Ms Lisa Wong representing MAG, Ken Tan of AirAsia, Dato Lim Mee Lee (Penang Hotel Association), among others., .

“There will also be a lucky draw for eligible buyers sponsored by MAS, Firefly, AirAsia, Vietnam Airlines, Qantas, China Airlines, Thai Airways, Citilink, Xiamen Airlines to name a few..

“Among the destinations are Japan (MAS business class), Adelaide, Bangkok, Medan, Phuket, Langkawi, Vietnam, and Xiiamen,” siad Leong.

According to Leong, they are targeting RM25 million to RM30 million sales turnover this year.

In his address, Wong urged members of the public to take the opportunity to visit MATTA Fair Penang to buy tickets for their favourite holiday destinations. The value of these prizes are more than RM200,000.

“”We believe that it will not only boost tourism to the state but also strengthen the bonds that hold our industry together,” he said..

Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) are the official airline partners for MATTA Fair Penang.

MAG chief executive officer, Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi said in a statement that MAG is honoured to continue to show support as the official airline partner for the upcoming MATTA Fair Penang.

“Visitors can plan their upcoming year-end travels and look forward to exclusive deals from Fireflyitors can plan  with up to 15% off across all routes for travel until Dec 15, 2023,” he added.

So, come one, come all to the MATTA Fair Penang to plan your next holiday retreat.