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| My awesome colleagues (L to R) Malyn, Bella, Yvonne, and Zain posing with MAS' quirky Queen's Guard on the opening day of Matta Fair 2016. |
Dubbed as the biggest travel extravaganza in Malaysia, Matta Fair stands for Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta), where tourists can get vacation and travel packages on low, low prices. It is a three-day event that happens twice a year - usually on March and September.
I was like a kid in a candy store. For someone who has been deprived of any decent trips in a couple of months, I don't know which booth out of less than 200 should I first check out since every poster, standee, and flyer were all competing for my limited attention. Some of the things I saw made me crazy:
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| People arrive in droves during the opening of Matta Fair 2016. |
* Domestic tour packages:
Since my husband and I have been talking about going on a quick getaway trip to Genting Highlands. We were supposed to go to Sabah, but I had recently started on a new job so that had to wait. 4 to 5-star hotels brought down their rates like madmen. I couldn't decide which one to book: Thistle, Lexis, or Avillion so I went back with Salman in tow on the second day, so he can book us at The Avillion Port Dickson. We are going at the end of the month. Can't wait!
* Activities/Leisure
It was hard for me to leave luxury cruise ship packages and water park rates, to be honest. They were so cheap! But I had to forget about that first since I have to prioritize going home to Manila for Christmas.
* Airline tickets
My colleague said flights to London were really affordable. But I'm not yet ready for a long-haul vacation just yet, so I booked a flight to Manila to attend a dear friend's wedding in November for almost P5,000 round-trip. Not bad considering the date is quite near. Too bad dates for Christmas/New Year's homecoming were blocked. (or else more damage would have been done.)
* ASEAN
Most of the items I have yet to tick on my bucket list when I was still single include visiting captivating places in the neighboring Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, and Cambodia. It's a shame to admit I haven't even been to Thailand!
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| Malaysian travel enthusiasts check out awesome vacation and tour deals offered at Matta Fair 2016. |
As we were thinking of which vacation to take for early next year. A sad realization dawned on me. As a Filipino in Malaysia, my country's widely popular It's More Fun in the Philippines brand is obviously missing out on the event. Sri Lanka Tourism almost blasted my ears off every time we pass by their booth in Hall 3. It was not easy to ignore the regal poster of India's Taj Mahal somewhere nearby and we couldn't even get through Wonderful Indonesia's long both heading to the exit.
No wonder only a handful of Malaysians know any tourist attractions or travel spots in the Philippines except Boracay and Cebu (Thanks Cebu Pacific.) I keep on hearing them talking about Thailand's Krabi or Phuket, Indonesia's Bandung and Lobok, even Cambodia and Vietnam but not Philippine's Coron or Camarines Sur islands. And I don't wanna sound too bragging about our country's pristine beaches but I can't help it when I know there is a need to promote our top tourist destinations and travel spots in the Philippines it to my peers and colleagues.
So shout out to the Department of Tourism in Manila as well as the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. It would really be more fun in the Philippines if we get more of our Malaysian brothers and sisters visit our country by joining the next Matta Fair in 2017!
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