The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said it was due to unexpected circumstances such as the heavy flood in several states and the missing Air Asia Indonesia airplane.
PUTRAJAYA – The Grand Launch of the Malaysia Year of Festivals 2015 or MyFest 2015, scheduled for 10 January 2015, has been postponed to a later date.
The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said it was due to unexpected circumstances such as the heavy flood in several states and the missing Air Asia Indonesia airplane. The Ministry had also expressed sympathy for the flood victims and the family members of passengers onboard the airplane that was reported missing.
“The Ministry of Tourism and Culture had earlier cancelled its Christmas Open House celebration which was scheduled for 27 December 2014 at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur. The event was instead replaced with 1MOTAC Flood Relief Charity Event which managed to raise donations totalling RM22,000 and other essential items for flood victims,” he added.
The tourism industry had also been affected as Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Kedah, Johor and Negeri Sembilan were among the states which had recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals in 2013.
However, Dato’ Nazri was optimistic that the states affected by the flood would recover and had pledged that the Ministry and its agencies would increase tourism promotion of these states overseas.
MyFest 2015 is a national mission that was announced by the Prime Minister of Malaysia YAB Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak in his 2015 budget speech. The campaign is a follow up to Visit Malaysia Year 2014 and aims to maintain Malaysia’s position as a major destination of choice for tourists worldwide and to attract 29.4 million tourist arrivals with tourism receipts of RM89 billion.
Themed “Endless Celebrations”, MyFest 2015 will focus on promoting the country’s diverse cultures, heritage, festivals and attractions.
Photo caption: The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz
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