KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Malaysia is expected to attract more regional tourists as 85 Asean celebrities converge on the nation’s capital for the Asean Celebrity Explore Quest Malaysia 2016.
The programme, organised by Tourism Malaysia, includes the likes of Philippine actress Kris Bernal, Myanmar model Paing Thaikon, Indonesian singer Yonggi Miladian, and Vietnamese model Thùy Dung.
Themed “Asean In My Heart”, it brings celebrities together for a week filled with activities and challenges involving the Malaysian culture, people, nature and food as they travel around Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and then Sabah where it will conclude in Kota Kinabalu on October 13.
At the launch of the event yesterday, Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the programme, now in its fourth year, will begin tomorrow at the Sunway Lagoon Theme Park with the official flag-off at 9.30am.
“The Asean Celebrity Explore Quest will expose the participants to the best of what Malaysia has to offer, and they can share their experiences with their social media followers in their home countries, attracting them to the country,” he said.
“Asean tourists account for 74 per cent of visitors to the country. In 2015 alone, they contributed 19.1 million arrivals and RM44 billion in receipts, out of a total 25.7 million arrivals and RM69 billion in receipts.”
He said the number of Asean tourists also increased by five per cent in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.
Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab said given Asean’s importance as a source of tourism, the programme served to bring more of them to the country.
“The participants are celebrities in their own countries, with strong followings online. In this sense they become ambassadors for their audiences, telling them about Malaysia,” he said.
“Equally important is that the programme fosters a sense of camaraderie among the participants, which we hope will reflect among the region’s tourism players since Asean tourists tend to visit more than one country.”
In addition to boosting Malaysia’s tourism destinations, the Asean Celebrity Explore Quest will help to raise awareness of the “Visit Asean@50” tourism campaign to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Asean’s formation next year.
The campaign aims to bring in some 121 million international arrivals to Southeast Asia with a receipt value of US$83 billion (RM345 billion) during that time.
Also present was Tourism Malaysia Director, International Promotion Syed Yahya Syed Othman.
