A unique gathering of tourism players was held yesterday at Gran Melia Hotel, Kuningan Jakarta organised by Tourism Malaysia office and the Embassy of Malaysia.
Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Datuk Syed Munshe Afdzaruddin Syed Hassan during a keynote address said that Malaysian and Indonesian tour operators should take advantage of the growing tourism market by establishing a mechanism for collaboration which should not be limited to tourism traffic between Malaysia and Indonesia but should also transcend the global market, particularly the Southeast Asian and European markets.
"Tourism industry players should tap the growing tourism market as everyone can now travel with cheap airlines by looking at the successes, failures and challenges.
"The information gathered could help the government as a facilitator to devise a formula for future direction of tourism collaboration between the two countries," he added.
He proposed the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agencies (MATTA) and the Association of Indonesian Travel Agencies (ASITA) to formulate a mechanism for cooperation.
Syed Munshe Afdzaruddin said tourism was the second biggest contributor to the Malaysian economy by generating a revenue of RM55 billion in 2009.
Malaysia received 2.5 million tourist arrivals from Indonesia last year while 1.1 million Malaysian tourists visited Indonesia in 2009, he said, adding that about 70 per cent of medical tourists in Malaysia were from Indonesia.
The session was attended by mainly Indonesian tourism players with only a handful from the Malaysian side.
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