In tandem with the increasing popularity of user-generated content and social media, as well the rise of a breed of tech savvy travellers, VirtualMalaysia.com (VM) has reinvented itself and recently relaunched its 2.0 version with numerous interactive features.

Developed in 1997 to showcase Malaysia as a travel destination and its many attractions, the travel portal was officially launched by Creative Advances Technology Sdn Bhd (CAT) in 1999 (also developer ofSOTA.travel, an online travel platform catering to travel businesses and travellers).

At that time, VM was considered to be ahead of its time, as it was the first multimedia travel portal in Malaysia with video streaming and hosting 500,000 images covering nearly every destination in Malaysia. In 2006, Tourism Malaysia recognised it as the official e-commerce enabled travel site promoting Malaysia, retaining this status till today.

VM’s CEO, Rohizam Md Yusoff (pictured left with CAT’s Joanna Liao), said the portal was no longer the sole generator of content for the site. “The 2.0 version is enriched with timely content contributed by a network of bloggers, travel writers, photo journalists and individual consumers, and feature what are trending and popular.”

Added Joanna Liao, CAT’s chief marketing officer, “Just like TripAdvisor, travellers get reviews from actual visitors or bloggers who have actually been to the destinations, be it a tourist attraction, hotel or good place to eat. We have seen online user-generated reviews getting more traffic, as they are more believable. In addition, other users can also share or comment on the content.”

WIT checked out the revamped site and found it to be comprehensive, content-wise, with sections catering to different market segments such as adventure, food, culture, family. Each section has posts, videos, popular topics with sharing features for visitors to post stories and, blogs and videos of their travel. There are also sections for comments and special travel deals.

However, the site seems more like a destination guide, no different from the consumer version of Tourism Malaysia’s website or other online destination guides on Malaysia.

Rohizam disagrees, saying VM 2.0 does offer more interaction with consumers via social channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram.

“One of the main differences is that all these social interactions from consumers are within the one same portal instead of say Tourism Malaysia’s website, which only show postings from its Facebook page.

“The other key difference is that VM connects the consumers with the industry, which no other national tourism organisations’ websites do. It brings together the relevant parties in the tourism and travel industry, such as travel agents, hotels, product owners like theme park attractions and special interest groups like diving, cycling, into a single portal.”

He said another selling point is the collaborative multiplier effect, harnessing the power of social media for the many-to-many peer viral.

“Other sites may offer one-way information or from one writer’s perspective. With VirtualMalaysia 2.0 the everyday consumer can do their bit in promoting Malaysia merely by participating on the website via the social channels available.”

The site currently has 3,000 daily visitors. Rohizam declined to share targets.

“The way SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) works, once the site is revamped the Google analytics tracking visits sort of resets to zero. So it will take time to build back the organic search traffic. VM has no intention to build its site via paid advertising or SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and will build its traffic via SEO, through content that is relevant and fresh and via social media.

Where does VM  see itself going from here? “To provide a collaborative platform to promote Malaysia collectively – from everyday consumers, travel industry players, product owners and eventually, even the various state and tourism ministries. And yes, e-commerce will be part of it as the market matures.”

Rohizam hopes the travel portal will help direct more travellers to Malaysia, especially with the upcoming Visit Malaysia Year 2014.