Chennai: Tourism Malaysia, the nodal agency to promote tourism to Malaysia has joined hands with Hong Kong Tourism Board and Malaysian Airlines to attract Indian tourists to their countries by launching an attractive twin-destination combo offer. Interestingly this is the first time the tourism promotion boards of two countries have joined hands in India to promote tourist traffic to their countries.

The six days / five nights twin-destination package is available on Malaysia Airlines for Rs29,990. A traveller on this package would receive three nights at Kuala Lumpur and two nights at Hong Kong.

This Malaysia ka Kaamal, Hong Kong mein Dhamaal package — as the tourism boards call the scheme — would include economy airfare, accommodation on twin sharing in four star hotel with breakfast and airport transfers, half-day site-seeing tour in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong will be shortly launched and will be available till mid September this year.

The package launch coincides with the shopping festivals in both the countries.

According to director, Tourism Malaysia, Roslan Abdullah, Director, "By introducing Hong Kong as a tourist destination, Tourism Malaysia has taken yet another step to develop the concept of 'twin destination' marketing and thereby enhancing cooperation to develop regional tourism in the South East Asia sector."

Tourism Malaysia is expecting an annual growth between 20 per cent to 25 per cent in the arrivals from India for the year 2004.

The Malaysian tourism promotion board is also attracting Indian corporates to organise meetings, incentive trips and conventions or exhibitions (MICE) in Malaysia with attractions like preferential airfares, special accommodation and transportation rates, dissemination of information collaterals and special discounted rates on convention centres.

Indian corporates organising MICE trips to Malaysia is on the rise. From 7,351 MICE arrivals in 2001, the year 2003 saw 18, 608 Indians travelling to Malaysia under this category.