The expo estimated 250,000 visitors and RM400million in sales.
I need to make a couple of things clear before getting to the heart of this article. The only times I’ve been to a MATTA (Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents) Fair were when I was a kid, with my dad. This was back in the 90s, way before we could plan a whole trip from the comfort of our couch… or ask ChatGPT to do it for us.
As a (slightly older) millennial, travel fairs were never my thing. Why brave the Kuala Lumpur traffic on a weekend, pay exorbitant parking fees, and be smothered by hordes of deal-seeking-to-be-tourists when I could just whip out my phone (or laptop) and click-click-click, have it all done without breaking a sweat? Travel, other than the actual act itself, was always a digital process for me by the time I had my own money to spend.
So, going to the MATTA Fair in 2023 was a fairly unorthodox experience. Plus, I’m approaching it with new, job-driven eyes.
All in all, the fair was estimated to draw RM400 million in sales.
According to the organisers, this year’s MATTA Fair featured a whopping 1,420 booths across nine halls spanning 37,000 square metres. There were 222 participating organisations, which included 107 travel and tour agencies, 19 National Tourism Organisations, 13 State Tourism Offices, 37 hotels and resorts, 7 theme parks, 2 cruise lines, 6 airlines, and 31 other travel-related services exhibitors.
All in all, the fair was estimated to draw RM400 million in sales.
The significance of the MATTA Fair this year, the 52nd installment since its inception, can’t be understated. For the first time, the fair took place between March 17 – 19 at the Malaysian International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec), which is 30% bigger than its usual spot at the World Trade Centre. It’s a more modern setting and I immediately noticed the increased spaciousness as I entered the main entrance hall.
Welcoming guests were the usual big players – Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, the aviation brands – promoting loyalty programs, travel insurance, and membership plans.
Like all Malaysian expos, the MATTA Fair isn’t strictly business. It’s a “fun travel fair”, so there was a whole hall dedicated to actual food trucks indoors, hawking everything from hot dogs to ‘nasi lemak’. Food trucks were also parked outside, serving coffee, light snacks, and pastries. And of course, the entire production was paired with cultural performances and art shows.
The fair itself was divided, quite impressively, into three segments for ease of browsing – local destinations on Level 1, and international travel on Levels 2 and 3.
Tourism Malaysia had a cozy little pavilion at the entrance of Level 1. The other booths were pretty standard fare – East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) made their presence felt with a few large booths, there were plenty of Tours and Attractions vendors selling passes to water parks and zoos around the country, and dozens of travel agencies promoting tour packages to the usual hotspots like Kuching, Melaka, and Kota Kinabalu.
Tourism Malaysia had a cozy little pavilion at the entrance of Level 1
Sabah was notably aggressive with their campaign, shiny booths and all, in line with the launch of its new tourism slogan “Feel Sabah, North Borneo”. Speaking to The Star, Sabah minister Datuk Christina Liew said the state is targeting 2.2 million domestic and international visitors this year.
Moving to Levels 2 and 3, I didn’t expect the sheer volume of people that packed themselves into these halls to secure international travel deals. Level 3, specifically, was at a standstill – a human traffic jam trying to weave around a striking number of pavilions selling cruise holidays. Royal Caribbean and Resorts World Genting boasted booths that looked like actual ships, but many of the smaller cruise companies were also teeming with customers.
I guess it’s true that, despite economic uncertainty and a shaky political scene, people are tired of staying put and staying inside. The thirst for travel is high.
“I got the idea to do a cruise holiday during the pandemic,” said Koo, who was also, like me, gawking at a blizzard of prices, deals, and details that were scattered on pavilion banners on Level 3. “I’m more of a beach-holiday-type guy lah,” he added. “But I watched a cruise documentary two or three years ago and I’ve been wanting to try one ever since.”
Royal Caribbean and Resorts World Genting boasted booths that looked like actual ships, but many of the smaller cruise companies were also teeming with customers.
One of the fanciest pavilions on the lot, equipped with LED screens and shiny lights, belonged to Saudi Arabia, a first-time participant offering the country’s tourism not only to Muslim tourists but also to non-Muslims. And indeed, I saw more non-Muslim customers browsing the section.
Saudi Arabia, a first-time participant offering the country’s tourism not only to Muslim tourists but also to non-Muslims
Another popular player on the scene happened to be Apple Vacations, who seemed to specialise in tours to western countries. Some of their highlights included an Alaskan cruise, a holiday in the Canadian Rockies, and travelling to South America.
While browsing one of the European pavilions, I asked a slightly older customer, Suresh, if this was his first time at MATTA. He told me he had been going to these expos for years and missed them during the pandemic. “Why?”, I asked. “Because I like talking to people when booking my holidays. I like to ask questions – how far is the train station from my hotel, how many popular places can I see, do I need a car to travel. I can’t do that online. Here, I can ask them directly and if I’m happy, I lock the deal and buy a holiday.”
I was tempted to tell Suresh that he could, in fact, get all the information he needed when booking online but that wasn’t the point he was making, I think. It was quite clear that Suresh, like the 250,000 people who were expected at MATTA this year, are drawn to the communal aspect of tourism.
I thought about the number of discussions we’ve had about ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence of late, and how despite its speed and increasing accuracy, it’ll be a while before the bot replaces the act of pulling up a chair, talking to someone to customise your trip, probably bargaining with an agent who needs to hit their daily quota, and driving home with a holiday in hand.
After spending a few hours at the Fair, I decided to grab myself an iced coffee from one of the food merchants and head home. I wish I could say I had some holidays booked but a free tote bag and some brochures will suffice for now. While this hasn’t changed my view on booking holidays online (I still prefer to click-click-click on an app) – I do appreciate, more than ever, that major travel expos are back in a big way.
