Making Travel A Reality

The rapidly changing face of the Indian economy had resulted in a drastic turnaround in spending patterns and the opening up of doors of the country has resulted in much higher disposable income, says Manoharan

A certain tagline has embedded itself in the mind of the travelling global citizen, at the mention of Malaysia and that is ‘Truly Asia’. And that's where the strength of the campaign to make Malaysia a much sought-after tourist destination speaks for itself. Creating that Instant Brand recall and visual imagery that encompasses the destination as a true package of the experience of the entire Asian continent was a long and arduous journey comprising a myriad hurdles that needed to be reversed before even success could be envisioned.

The Journey

The end of the last millennium had merely figures of just 40,000 travellers from India to Malaysia, primarily from the VFR segment. Awareness of exotic vacationing hotspots was restricted to the west. The Indian tourist considered the east to be an unexciting and uninviting part of the world that held no lure to any aspect of vacationing. And that's where the first step was taken. The psyche of the Indian traveller had to be reversed before a positive outlook could even be initiated.

In-depth research by Tourism Malaysia threw up the base factor that the time was ripe for major inroads into the sector of outbound tourism. The rapidly changing face of the Indian economy had resulted in a drastic turnaround in spending patterns and the opening up of doors of the country resulted in much higher disposable income. A parallel and welcome change was the revamp in the Indian tourism industry. Travel gurus began to seriously consider the vistas that outbound tourism opens up and new avenues to be tread emerged at a speedy pace. Tourism Malaysia struck when the iron was hot - the multi-faced aspects of entertainment and culture of the country needed to be highlighted and the exotic shades of life in Malaysia, a stark mix of various traditions brought in from the far corners of Asia created an entrancing picture of the diverse cultures, delectable cuisines and the adaptability and hospitality of the nation that is 'Truly Asia'. The first hurdle was sidestepped. Awareness and hype was at an all time high and the kitsch culture of Malaysia began to be as attractive and unique as English high tea or American Thanksgiving. The destination was now a glamorous vacation option and eyes swung towards seriously considering Malaysia for a holiday pit stop. The effort to capture as many of those eyes priced travel and enjoyment in the destination at an affordable figure to ensure mass reach.

The Implementation

India was flooded with images of Malaysian exotica and focussed campaigning resulted in a flood - The year was 2000 and the Tourism Malaysia Board set up its Indian headquarters in Mumbai with branches in New Delhi and Chennai. The year was 2002 and the figures spoke for themselves - the number of Indian travellers had jumped up to 183,000. A significant 300% jump in the numbers spelt success loud and clear with a siren song on the new segments of travellers - leisure, holiday, honeymoon and business visitors formed a majority of these.

The foundation had been laid and the success was built upon. 2003 was planned as the strengthening phase of the campaign. Inroads were made into semi-metros to augment the reach and penetration of brand Malaysia to smaller towns and cities. Tourism Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines' tremendously successful campaign ‘Showcase Malaysia Mega Deals’ resurfaced in the year 2003 with a host of value additions. Joint packages were not restricted to Malaysia Airlines but special packages were introduced in association with Singapore Airlines and Star Cruises.

The Methodology

Food festivals and cultural performances were organised at regular intervals throughout India. Active joint consumer promotions were undertaken with leading Indian corporates to propagate brand Malaysia. Movie promotions, shopping promotions, contest and quizzes were organised to highlight various activities and destinations. The board participated in numerous consumer and trade exhibitions to sustain the hype on destination Malaysia and support various tactical initiatives. Regular FAM tours were organised for both media and travel trade to provide a first hand experience of various facets of Malaysia. In November, 2003, the board launched a special campaign for the Indian corporate market called ‘Meet and Experience Malaysia Truly Asia’. This campaign which specifically targets the corporate sector would witness aggressive marketing initiatives for the MICE movement in the year 2004.

This year the board in association with private players launched various niche packages to support and supplement the ‘Beyond Kuala Lumpur’ campaign. The year also witnessed the launch of ‘KL Vision city’ global campaign which focused on establishing Kuala Lumpur as a global city on par with the Paris and London of the world.

The year also saw Tourism Malaysia actively encouraging the private travel industry to develop and launch niche packages and these were introduced on regional and all India bases. Segments like Golf, Formula 1, Eco-tourism, Spa-tourism, soft-adventure, honeymoon packages were introduced to attract core interest groups to visit the country.

The board also undertook various road shows both individually and jointly with Star cruise, Genting Highlands and Malaysia Airlines to metros, semi-metros and state capitals. A unique initiative, never attempted earlier by any international tourism board in India, was undertaken at the 'summer capital of India'- Shimla. The board organised a three-day road show-cum-cultural performance with the objective of introducing 'Malaysia-Truly Asia' to the domestic tourist.

The Way Ahead

The coming years would continue to be treated with a similar operational strategy with an added focus of introducing new Destinations like Taman Negara, Sabah & Sarawak, Pahang, Johor, Malacca, Langkawi, Selangor and Penang would be showcased to the Indian traveller ensuring that a wide platter of options is available to suit the palate of every individual traveller.

The modus operandi continues to expand its facets and incorporate the choices of every individual traveller to entice them to Malaysia. The task is well begun and the future bright with prospects of numbers touching 200,000 by the end of 2004. The board aims that every Indian will get a chance to experience the land that is 'Truly Asia' showcased and packaged with enormous precision to ensure optimum vacation fun. With boundless markets to be tapped and a slew of niche concepts to be introduced the astounding figures look all set to assume even more enormous proportions in the years to come.

(The author is director, Tourism Malaysia, India)