This month, Tourism Malaysia hosted a total of 19 wedding planners and two media representatives from India, during a range of wedding seminars and product inspections that were geared towards promoting Malaysia as a stellar destination for weddings. The wedding destination seminar and its adjoining fam trip schedule were a collaboration between Tourism Malaysia and several leading Indian wedding planners.
Over five days, from 12 to 17 October 2019, these honoured guests from India attended an exclusive wedding seminar at Quill City Mall, where they were welcomed by the Deputy Director General (Promotion) of Tourism Malaysia, Y.Bhg. Dato’ Mohmed Razip Hasan. Each attendee was presented with a certificate of appreciation.
As part of the fam trip, participants visited a range of locations in Malaysia that are ideally suited to exotic wedding ceremonies. This schedule included a visit to Langkawi Island, where the delegation conducted product inspections. Among the hotels and resorts they visited were the Westin Langkawi, St. Regis Langkawi, Aloft Langkawi and Meritus Pelangi Langkawi. In Kuala Lumpur, they visited the Gold Coast Avani Sepang, Palace of the Golden Horses and Sheraton Imperial Hotel. In addition, the group also made a trip to Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan.
To highlight Malaysia’s suitability for wedding ceremonies, Malaysian wedding planner, Mr. Vinod Tirathai hosted a seminar, which was followed by a presentation by Malaysia Airlines. Two wedding planners from India – Mr. Mahesh Verma and Ms. Ruchika Bansal – also delivered a presentation to share projections for the Indian market. All participants were invited to a business matching session, before heading to Hotel Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, for an official dinner and late-night function.
In 2018, Malaysia welcomed more than 600,000 visitors from India. This year, Malaysia is already on course to outstrip these numbers: as of June 2019, arrivals from India were up to 354,486, representing a double-digit increase of 15.2% compared to the corresponding period last year.
With its range of excellent beachfront locations, events venues, hotels and accommodation, and strong cultural and historical ties to India, Malaysia is a wedding destination that continues to grow in popularity with couples from the subcontinent. Events such as the recent fam trip hosted by Tourism Malaysia are expected to pave the way for further growth in the wedding market, opening up the many romantic delights of Malaysia to an ever-widening global audience.
