16 July 2012 – The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said today that the first Philippine Tourism Fair in Malaysia will open on July 20 at the Main Concourse Area of the Berjaya Times Square (BTS) in Kuala Lumpur. It will run until July 22.

Organized by the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) and the BTS, it is a joint promotional campaign exclusively featuring the Philippines.

The DOT will have a 235-square meter exhibition area which will showcase the different Philippine tourism destinations. Special promo Philippine tour packages will also be made available to its visitors through the Consortium of Malaysian travel agents selling Philippine tours.

Expected to open the event is Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya, joined by DOT Representative in Malaysia Melissa Ong and other Embassy and DOT officials.

"The Philippines and Malaysia have been experiencing a renaissance in its bilateral relations, with increasing trade, investment and tourism happening between our two countries. In particular, new air routes have been opening between the Philippines and Malaysia, which has created more opportunities for Filipinos and Malaysians to visit each other's country and discover the beauty and richness of the other's tourism destinations, cuisine, culture, shopping and the innate hospitality of our two peoples.," Ambassador Malaya said.

"We hope that this tourism fair would serve as another avenue for our Malaysian neighbors and friends to discover why, as our tourism slogan would say, 'it's more fun in the Philippines'," he added.

Earlier, AirPhilExpress commenced flights on June 21, and flies the Kuala Lumpur-Manila route every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 to the Kuala Lumpur Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) and back.

AirAsia Philippines also launched its inaugural flight from the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark Airport, Pampanga to the LCCT last June 9, and now flies daily. This new route complimented its parent company AirAsia's Manila-Kuala Lumpur route, which flies twice a day.

The entry of AirPhilExpress and AirAsia Philippines brings to four the number of airlines directly servicing the Philippine-Malaysia route. Two other airlines ply the Philippines-Malaysia route: Cebu Pacific Air, which flies twice a day from Manila to Kuala Lumpur and also Manila to Kota Kinabalu once a day, and Malaysia Airlines, which flies to Manila to Kuala Lumpur twice a day.

In 2011, DOT numbers revealed that 91,752 Malaysian tourists visited the Philippines, while Tourism Malaysia said that 362,101 Filipino tourists visited Malaysia during the same period. END