Johor MATTA Fair 2022 organised by the Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) Johor Chapter has made its return to Batu Pahat, Johor and Johor Bahru after two years of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dubbed as the “Malaysia Premier Fair” hosting only Ministry of Tourism and Art Culture (MOTAC) licensed travel agents, MATTA Fair offered tour packages, airfare, theme park tickets and e-hailing service in an effort to help the public avoid scammers in the tourist market.
The fair’s first leg of its event was held in Summit Mall, Batu Pahat, Johor from 23rd to 24th July 2022 and made a total sales of RM1.5Million and targeted RM15Million from its Johor Bahru’s venue which took place over the weekend at the Austin International Convention Centre (AICC) with no entry charge for the first time in its history of hosting the fair.
Exhibitors for Johor Bahru’s leg included Sarawak and Sabah Tourism Board, Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), MATTA Penang Chapter, Johor Tourism, Tourism Malaysia Southern Office, National Carrier Malaysia Airline Berhad and its subsidiary, Firefly as well as Johor Theme Park, LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort. The fair also collaborated for the first time with Malaysia Budget Hotel Association (MyBHA) to promote budget accommodations nationwide.
Ts Dr Mohd Azlan Ab Jalil, Deputy Director of Tourism Johor representing Raven Kumar Krishnasamy, Chairman of the Johor State Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture Committee during the officiation ceremony has said that Johor MATTA Fair should be held annually and entice visitors from domestic and overseas alike as the state is strategically located near neighbouring countries like Singapore and Indonesia.
He also said that Johor Tourism Interchange (JTI) application would work closely with the MATTA Online Platform which was launched in June 2022 by connecting the platform to the JTI smartphone application.
President of MATTA, Datuk Tan Kok Liang in his speech said MATTA Online Platform currently has 300 unique packages with over 150 travel agents and tour operators registered and is expected to increase to 300 travel agents and 600 unique packages by end of 2022.
