By V. Sivaji from Pavilion Bukit Jalil Convention Centre
The highly anticipated MAH Fair 2024 kicked off at Level 5, Pavilion Bukit Jalil Exhibition Centre, Kuala Lumpur earlier this afternoon.
The two-day gathering is participated by more than 150 hotels, resorts, travel agents, theme parks and other stakeholders from all over the country.
The fair will help promote domestic tourism and in the process bring benefits to the industry.
Present to launch the event was Dato Yeoh Soon Hin who is the Deputy chairman of Tourism Malaysia along with the director-general of Tourism Malaysia, Manoharan Periasamy.
Yeoh in his address thanked MAH for organising the event to benefit local tourism.
“I am excited to see the overwhelming turnout at this fair. Malaysia is a treasure trove of diverse landscapes offering endless wonders.
“In line with Visit Malaysia Year, we expect RM88 billion tourism receipts and are confident to achieve it. Anyway, I urge everyone to visit this fair to explore the many packages for local attractions”, said Yeoh.
Also present was organising chairman Dato Khoo Boo Lim who is the vice president of the Malaysian Association of Hotels and MAH president Dato Christina Toh along with her committee.
The main objective of the fair is to offer local holiday makers to book their rooms directly with the participating hotels where they can enjoy better rates and perks compared to online booking platforms.
Meanwhile, Khoo thanked all participants, partners, sponsors and chapter chairman and Tourism Malaysia in organising the event.
“Many Malaysians are looking at domestic travel due to cost saving and exchange rates. However, local tourism remains healthy. This fair is also in conjunction with MAH ‘s 50th anniversary”, added Khoo.
Others present were the various state chairmen present were Haziz Hassan (Negeri Sembilan), Puan Suaibah Harun (Terengganu), Eugene Dass (Kedah/Perlis), Dato Tony Goh (Penang), Hafizan Wong (Sabah), Puan Maimun Mohd Hussian (Kelantan), Khairulnizam Kasim (Malacca), Datin Jasmine Heng (Selangor) among others.
Others present were MyBHA President Dr Sri Ganesh, MAHO ED Tuan Shah, Ashwin Gunasekeran, CEO of Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau, Patrick Law, President of MCTA and others.
One of the success stories of the fair was by NS MAH chairman, Haziz Hassan who added that as at 2pm, the Port Dickson Golf & Country Resort had managed to sell RM45,000 worth of memberships for 21 members.
“We offered a generous discount of 60 percent and started selling this package two weeks prior to this fair. However those interested had to come today and tomorrow to the fair to pay up”, he added.
Another success story was for the Ehsan Seaview Hotel Port Dickson room plus breakfast vouchers which managed to rake in RM30, 474 for 113 vouchers. Most of the buyers were from the Klang Valley and surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, providing entertainment at the launch ceremony was Khoo and Raj with the songs “Summer Holidays ” by Cliff Richard and another number by Rod Stewart (I don’t want to talk about it).
The MAH Fair also serves to promote local musicians to offer a platform to perform over two-days.
