More effort must be taken to promote the state and other destinations in Malaysia to Indian tourists, says Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Melaka chapter chairman Goh Hock Gin.

“We have been actively promoting Melaka to the Indian market during our promotion blitz here.

“We got positive responses at all the five cities on wooing tourists from the country to Melaka and we hope to get the same vibe in Chennai,” he said.

Goh said that based on Tourism Malaysia data, India remains one of the top tourism sources for Malaysia and has contributed 735,309 arrivals, which is an increase of 22% in 2019 before travel restrictions emerged due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said since the reopening of the international border on April 1, Indian tourists continue to top the arrival trend to Malaysia.

Gan added that his mission is to introduce Melaka as a destination for meetings, conferences, wellness and leisure to the Indians.

He said many Indians were not aware of Melaka as a top holiday destination.

“Melaka should have been the top on the tourism list as a popular destination and it status a Unesco world heritage city but unfortunately, many who turned up at the roadshow asked whether the city (Melaka) is among a holiday destination in Malaysia,” he said in a telephone interview on Thursday (April 28) after the roadshow at Bangalore organised by Tourism Malaysia.

He said the roadshow kicked off in New Delhi on April 18, followed by Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and the final one in Chennai on Friday (April 30).