1 Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce Malaysia

2 Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce Background Malaysia is a South East Asian country which covers an area of about 336,700 square kilometre and consists of West and East Malaysia. West Malaysia is bordered by Thailand to the north, Singapore to the south, South China Sea to the east, and Straits of Malacca to the west. While, East Malaysia shares its southern border with Indonesia, and is cradled by the South China Sea to the west and north, and the Sulu Sea to the northeast. Malaysia Travel & Tourism Industry

3 Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce With the population of 29 million, which consists of Malays (57%), Chinese (30%), Indians (8%) and indigenous people, Malaysia become an exotic blend of cultures and multi-racial population which practices various religions such as Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism and Christianity. All this cultures have influenced each other, creating a truly Malaysian culture. Malaysia Travel & Tourism Industry

4 Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce Market Information  Population – 29,180,000  GDP per capita (PPP): $16,900 (2012 est.)  GDP growth for 2012 – 6.4%  The United States is Malaysia's fourth-largest trading partner and Malaysia is the 22 nd trading partner of the United States. Annual two-way trade amounts to $39 billion. Malaysia Travel & Tourism Industry

5 Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce Major Travel & Tourism trade shows  MATTA Fair – March and September annually since 1991  Malaysia’s Official Food & Hotel Show– annually in September since 1993 Malaysia Travel & Tourism Industry

6 Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce Malaysia Travel & Tourism Industry *Source: Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI), U.S. Dept of Commerce Malaysian Visitors to U.S.* (Jan-Oct) 43,26454,080 (up 20%)67,650 (up 25%)

7 Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce Market Trends  Malaysia has 890 local travel agents are members of the Malaysian Association of Tour an Travel Agents and 70% offer travel packages to the U.S.  Tighter U.S. visa regulations after 9/11 caused a substantial decline in Malaysian visitors to U.S. and resulted in Malaysians diverting their travels to Australia, Britain and Europe. Since 2004, Malaysian travel to U.S. has started recovering and the potential for growth in this market is good. Malaysia Travel & Tourism Industry

8 Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce  Leisure or holiday travelers previously represented 70% of Malaysians traveling to the U.S. Since 9/11, travelers to the U.S. are primarily business people and students. Nevertheless, the leisure market which currently represents 40% of Malaysians traveling to the U.S., is showing signs of recovery.  The most popular U.S. destinations for Malaysians are Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Washington D.C. They travel to the U.S. mainly to visit theme parks, sightsee, shop at factory outlets and visit casinos. Cruises in Alaska and New England are getting popular among Malaysians.  There is a growing trend among Malaysians, especially among professionals, to look for different lifestyle experiences in their travel, e.g., an “American experience” in entertainment, music, sports, food, national parks, etc. Therefore, tour package itineraries to California and New York can be expanded to make them more interesting. Malaysia Travel & Tourism Industry

9 Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce Malaysia Travel & Tourism Industry  New destinations in the U.S. can also be promoted, especially to free independent travelers (FIT travelers), who are on the rise as Malaysians become better informed and independent about foreign travel. Air Asia and Firefly, Malaysian budget carriers have been rather successful in promoting FIT travelers in Malaysia. FAM tours will have to be organized to encourage travel agents to promote new U.S. destinations and journalists to write about new destinations.  Malaysian Airlines (MAS) flies to most states in the US. Delta flies their own planes to Malaysia while United, American Airlines and U.S. Airways operates via codeshare.

10 Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce We stand ready to help you do business in Malaysia with your U.S. services. Please do not hesitate to contact us! Stephen Jacques Counselor for Commercial Affairs U.S Department of Commerce Tel: Fax: Website: Malaysia Travel & Tourism Industry

11 Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce Let us help you close the deal Uma R. Arumugam Commercial Specialist U.S. Commercial Service U.S Department of Commerce U.S. Embassy 376 Jalan Tun Razak Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: , Fax: For expedited, personalized commercial assistance, please contact the Commercial Specialist responsible for your industry sector below.