Saudi tourism opens first Southeast Asia office in Malaysia

Dhaka: Saudi Tourism Authority has opened its first Southeast Asia commercial office in Malaysia as part of its strategy to promote the destination for travel in key source markets.

The Malaysia office will be responsible for trade and consumer marketing activities, expanding the reach and relevance of Saudi’s tourism offer and working with tour operators, travel agents and other industry stakeholders to build awareness and drive conversion in line with STA’s strategy and mission.

STA’s new office is being set up with the support of aviation and destination marketing representative company, AVIAREPS Malaysia, as its in-market representative covering the South-east Asia region.

“We are confident that Saudi’s diverse offering will be appealing to all demographics from the region,” said Shazlin Ahmad, Country Manager, STA – Southeast Asia.

“We have already begun outreach into the South-east Asia’s tourism trade ecosystem and the response has been very positive. We are actively seeking opportunities to co-invest with partners who are keen to add Saudi as an exciting new destination in their portfolio.”

Since opening its borders to international tourism in September 2019, Saudi rapidly established itself as the fastest growing tourism destination in the world, said World Travel and Tourism Council. Saudi Arabia reopened to vaccinated international visitors at the beginning of August.

To support the tourism trade ecosystem, STA is introducing Saudi Expert, a comprehensive digital platform providing partner companies such as DMCs, tour operators and other stakeholders with data, insights, destination information and creative assets in real-time to help build their businesses.

STA now has representative offices in eleven markets serving 21 countries, with an eventual goal of having 15 offices around the world.