by Linda Archibald
PETALING JAYA: If a country’s age can be compared to human years, then Malaysia, which celebrates its 50th year on Sept 16 can be seen as a maturing economy which has seen its fair share of ups and downs.
For humans, those 50-year-old and over Malaysians who have access to social media may not be as adept as their teenage counterparts, but they acknowledge that this phenomenon is here to stay and must be leveraged.
This is illustrated amply by the revelation of a veteran in the Malaysian (and global) communications and tourism industry who observed that Tourism Malaysia has collected a strong following of 20,000 Facebook fans in France alone, and the number is expected to spike by another 7,000 by year-end.
Malaysian Adlina Borhan described the number of fans engaging with Malaysia on social media as “phenomenal”.
The co-founder and senior partner of Paris-based marketing solutions Malaysian-French company AB ARRTHO SARL said for three consecutive months this year (May-July), Tourism Malaysia in France ranked among the top three for their high engagement rate on Facebook compared to other national tourism organisations (NTOs) in France.
In May 2013, they came up tops with the highest engagement rate of 3%, compared to other NTOs, followed by 3.3% in June in which they were at second place and repeated their success to rank second place in July.
However, she cautioned that NTOs must remain interactive with potential travellers.
“You can have so many fans, but if they do not interact with you, you would lose opportunities. We must engage with them and manage it (the interaction) well,” she said.
‘Malaysia, Truly Asia’
Adlina’s organisation services Asian companies in the lifestyle, tourism and hospitality industry for promotion in the Western Europe market.
She said performance of Tourism Malaysia’s engagement via social media is not unique to France alone. The agency’s Kuala Lumpur’s Facebook page has garnered 146,390 fans, with similar strong following in major economies such as Hong Kong, Australia and Thailand.
She said the number of followers matters. Digital technology has altered the behaviour of today’s travellers across the globe as being “connected” becomes the norm.
“(They are) increasingly informed, demanding transparency and immediacy in their travel. 64% of Spanish travellers agreed the online booking is the most influential medium for them to choose a destination, according to the latest survey conducted by NH group of
Hotels. Most travellers today communicate first on social media before making the reservations with a booking website,” Adlina said.
Hotels. Most travellers today communicate first on social media before making the reservations with a booking website,” Adlina said.
Quoting a survey by French-based Médiamétrie, Adlina said in France alone in May 2013, travel purchases accounted for 59% of online purchases made, beating other services like cinema tickets, culture and arts, clothing and fashion.
She said one of Malaysia’s most notable successful initiatives was the ‘Malaysia, Truly Asia’ branding campaign.
“The world talks about Malaysia. I travel a lot in Europe, and when you speak of Malaysia, whether in Zurich, London, Paris, Nice, Lyon (or) Spain, the people remember Malaysia from the (jingle) of ‘Malaysia Truly Asia,’ the music and the film,” she said.
Growing from Strength to Strength
Malaysian carriers Malaysian Airlines and AirAsia alike, she said were pivotal in putting Malaysia on global networks, while homegrown world class hoteliers (and she singled out) YTL Corp Bhd’s chain of hotels were “exceptionally successful” in attracting tourists into Malaysia.
World class events that captured international audience such as sports tourism landmark events such as Le Tour de Langkawi, Formula One Grand Prix, Motorsports GP, as well as entertainment, meeting and convention- related events of international standards also helped draw global attention.
Adlina added despite global crisis, she lauded Malaysia for its capability to not only remain consistent, but grow from strength to strength.
“Fine infrastructure including roads, highways and airports play an important role as first point of contact for international travellers,” she said.
The increase in foreign-speaking tourist guides in the country, strategic collaboration and alliance with global and local partners in leisure, business events and marketing have contributed to growing the country’s inbound tourism.
Furthermore, Unesco heritage sites in states such as Sabah, Sarawak, Malacca and Penang, have also helped enhance the country’s global position.
The former director for Paris-based Tourism Malaysia office said the participation of Malaysian Tourism in international tourism fairs abroad were also helpful.
Rewarding Moments
Yet like any growing economy, Adlina acknowledges there are opportunities for improvement in tourism promotion globally.
Areas of concern she said include, the lack of air connectivity, limited investments for marketing funds, poor human resource infrastructure especially in terms of relevant talent pool, as well as the inability to define and capitalise, the fast-changing market trends.
Adlina, who also worked for the Hilton brand, in a regional capacit in Asia Pacific, said the geo-political and country issues also posed public relations challenges for the country.
On what her wishlist is for Malaysia, she said, she hopes the country will persist with its ‘Malaysia, Truly Asia’ branding campaign to promote the country’s beauty, culture and heritage.
“Social media will be one of the major tools towards this end,” she quipped.
She also expressed hope that Malaysians too will appreciate the six rewarding moments that foreign visitors look for when visiting Malaysia — discovering, satisfying, enjoying, experiencing, sharing and surprising.
“It would be the same for our locals (Malaysians) holidaying in Malaysia to enjoy (such) rewarding moments,” she said. Adlina, who has been in Europe for 13 years now, included on her wishlist, a desire for a fine Malaysian restaurant.
“So, the French (who are gastronomically appreciative) can have a first-hand experience of Malaysia’s best cuisine!”
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