By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Sept 1: Malaysia and Switzerland have agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to lay the foundation for a new chapter in Malaysia–Switzerland tourism cooperation.
In a Facebook post, Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Dato Seri Tiong King Sing said the following after a meeting with Stephan Roemer, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Tourasia Roemer AG in Zurich, recently.
Tourasia is a renowned Swiss travel company, having won the Golden Travel Star and Best Swiss Travel Agency Award for 17 consecutive years, and provides both B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) services to over 150 travel agencies across Switzerland.
“Although Switzerland has a population of only 8.9 million, it has the highest outbound travel rate per capita in Europe, with each individual making an average of 2.7 overseas trips annually.
“Swiss travellers are known for their strong spending power, averaging around USD 6,500 per trip. Yet, only about 31,000 Swiss tourists visited Malaysia last year, far below the market’s true potential,” said Tiong.
The Bintulu MP added that both sides agreed that direct flight connectivity is crucial, as currently, Switzerland records approximately 230,000 visitors to Thailand and 110,000 to Singapore annually, mainly due to direct flight accessibility.
“I have instructed my team to increase engagement with Swiss airlines to push for the resumption of direct flights to Kuala Lumpur,” said Tiong, who is also the assemblyman for Dudong.
At the same time, he said that Roemer expressed a strong interest in eco-tourism investment in Sabah, particularly in developing premium eco-camps in Tawau and Kota Kinabalu.
In response, Tiong said he would initiate discussions with the relevant agencies and national park authorities to explore the feasibility of this collaboration.
“Additionally, both parties explored opportunities for cooperation in the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE) sector, as well as joint marketing initiatives.
“We agreed to formalise these efforts through a Memorandum of Understanding, laying the foundation for a new chapter in Malaysia–Switzerland tourism cooperation,” he said. — DayakDaily
