The Ministers and senior officials of Malaysia and Singapore met at the sidelines of the ASEAN Tourism Meetings in Davao City, Philippines, and have agreed to…
The Ministers and senior officials of Malaysia and Singapore met at the sidelines of the ASEAN Tourism Meetings in Davao City, Philippines, and have agreed to embark on a new two-year marketing campaign to jointly promote both destinations. Leading the Malaysian delegation was Datuk Dr Leo Michael Toyad, Minister of Tourism. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth & Sports and Second Minister for Trade & Industry led officials from Singapore Tourism Board in engaging their Malaysian counterparts.
Minister Datuk Dr Leo Michael Toyad said, “Malaysia and Singapore are natural partners, with very strong ties traditionally. It is only natural that we have extended this warm relationship to enhance our tourism position globally. I am positive that the current initiatives will drive the formulation of even more creative and exciting tour programmes into Singapore and Malaysia, not just from third countries but also between us.”
Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said, “Both Singapore and Malaysia enjoy a long-standing and warm relationship, and bilateral collaborations between the tourism organizations of both countries have also grown. We hope that this marketing campaign will further foster closer rapport and understanding across all levels, and pave the way for closer cooperation for the benefit of tourism on both sides of the causeway.
Areas Identified for Joint Cooperation
During the dialogue, both Ministers reiterated that the close ties between Tourism Malaysia and Singapore Tourism Board have been instrumental in the successful implementation of joint marketing campaigns held since the formation of the Malaysia-Singapore Tourism Council (MSTC) in 1982. Some of the initial activities identified for this joint marketing campaign include:
Promotion of bilateral tourism flows
Singapore could offer visitors from Malaysia complimentary admission to various attractions in Singapore on a mutually-agreed date, and vice versa. The proposed date and the participating attractions will be announced at a later date.
Tourism Malaysia will identify three visitor centres in Singapore that would promote Malaysia through displaying its marketing brochures at these venues. Similarly, Singapore Tourism Board will identify three centres in Malaysia to promote Singapore.
Joint promotion to third countries
The focus of this marketing campaign will be on strategic advertising focusing initially on the USA, Middle East and Russia. Both tourism agencies will cost share the funding of this initiative on an equal basis.
Malaysia-Singapore Tourism Games
The re-activation of the Malaysia-Singapore Tourism Games, to allow for the tourism industry from both the public and private sector to establish and renew ties in an informal setting.
Malaysia-Singapore Tourism Council
The Malaysia-Singapore Tourism Council (MSTC) was formed in 1982 as a result of a meeting between the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Singapore then. It became the platform where Tourism Malaysia (then Tourist Development Council or TDC) and Singapore Tourism Board (then Singapore Tourist Promotion Board or STPB) would carry out marketing activities to promote Singapore and Malaysia as joint destinations in targeted countries.
In 1994 and 2000 the MSTC launched marketing initiatives in various countries and regions, including the USA and Middle East, that included tour operator support, consumer and trade advertising, travel agent seminars and familiarization trips, participation in consumer and tradeshows, media oriented activities and organization of consumer promotions. These initiatives have helped generate awareness of both countries as a collective destination for those keen to explore the region.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
