Tourism Malaysia returns to among India's largest tourism fair, the Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) 2024 in Mumbai since its last participation in 2020. The three-day event, happening from 08th to 10th February 2024, is a continuous effort to keep Malaysia as preferred tourism destination in the minds of Indian travellers.
At OTM 2024 this year, Tourism Malaysia aims to focus on the niche products such as shopping, golfing, luxury tourism, theme parks and honeymoon packages. On top of that, emerging segments such as weddings and film-induced tourism also being promoted to Indians as a destination of choice. With more than 35,000 trade visitors expected, the event will anticipate a significant increase of Indian tourists to Malaysia and promote stronger cooperation between tour operators and members of the tourism fraternity.

The Malaysian delegation is headed by Dato' Dr. Ammar Abd. Ghapar, Director General of Tourism Malaysia along with 43 organisations representing twenty three (23) tour agents, eleven (11) hotel/resort operators, four (4) tourism product owners, three (3) state tourism board, two (2) airline operators and accompanied with several officials from Tourism Malaysia.

Tourism Malaysia is currently conducting several promotional activities in the Indian market. These include the Malaysia Food and Cultural Festival from 5th February to 11th February 2024 followed by a roadshow campaign across four main cities in India, namely Bangalore, Chennai, Calcutta and Ahmedabad from 11th February to 19th February 2024 and finally the South Asia's Travel & Tourism Exchange (SATTE), Delhi from 22nd February to 24th February 2024.

India is a significant priority market for Malaysia, with strong economic ties and cultural connections. India is Malaysia's fifth largest source of tourists. Malaysia recorded 14.4 million tourist arrivals between January and September 2023 with 472,479 from India. In terms of air accessibility, 181 flights with 33,851 seats are offered weekly between India and Malaysia through Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air, AirAsia, and IndiGo.

In the meantime, Tourism malaysia will seize the opportunity to participate in this program to further encourage more Indian tourists to visit Malaysia by leveraging the announcement of the visa free policy for Indian tourist to Malaysia until 31 December 2024. Additionally, it serves as a platform to promote Visit Malaysia 2026 through publicity coverage throughout the program.

Dersenish Aresandiran, Chief Commercial Officer of Airlines from Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) said, "Malaysia Airlines is thrilled to be part of OTM 2024 as the official airline partner. Together with Tourism Malaysia, we look forward to showcasing the diverse and captivating allure of Malaysia to Indian travellers as we work closely with Tourism Malaysia to reinvigorate inbound and outbound tourism between these two key markets. With our renowned Malaysian Hospitality, we provide seamless connectivity by operating 69 weekly flights from nine (9) key hubs in India. We invite travellers to take advantage of the special fares for flights from India to Kuala Lumpur starting at just INR 12,996 to experience the rich cultural heritage and natural wonders that Malaysia has to offer."