The Malaysia Year of Festivals (MYFEST) 2015

A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO CONTINUE BOOSTING THE NATIONAL TOURISM GROWTH

Yours truly was among those invited to join in the kick off of the Malaysia Year of Festivals (MYFEST)2015 yesterday at the Swiss Garden Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. 

Upon arrival at the venue, yours truly here was a little startled to be greeted by two masked Mah Meri men.  But it turned into fascination as to be honest, my husband and I once went to Pulau Carey and lost our way and never came upon their village and being an impatient man, my husband gave up looking for the place, and this was my very first time seeing them up close.

Do you know that their outfit is made from nipah leaves and their outfit from the bark of a tree? They are really amazing!!!

Then at the registration counter, every guest were given a lovely origami type head gear crafted from nipah leaves by the Mah Meri tribe as well as a lovely necklace with flowers, also crafted from nipah leaves called the "Bunga Moyang".

You can be sure to admire their amazing handicraft!!!

Yours truly with two Mah Meri men

We also got to enjoy music by these guys ....

..as well as witness  Batik Painting at a little booth there...

If you are a fan of pressed flowers and pressed flowers art, you should check out this booth. Kak Ani here took 3 days to create that masterpiece she is holding.

According to her, the flowers itself takes about a day to dry, or faster if you put it in the microwave.

And...below you can enjoy the lovely handicrafts of the Mah Meri tribesmen made by nipah leaves. It is amazing how many items can be made from these leaves....

The Mah Meri are skillful wood carvers. The choice wood is a mangrove tree called Nyireh Batu. Here are some of the masks they carve.

Ok... so MYFEST here is being implemented with the hope of continuing to boost the tourism sector and maintain our lovely country Malaysia as one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

Malaysia is blessed with various cultures, so this campaign seeks to showcase and celebrate Malaysia's bountiful and diverse cultures and festivities as a tourist attraction. The promotion of various local festivities and cultural elements will be boosted as tourism offerings in the MYFEST 2015 campaign.

With all that, and the theme: "Endless Celebrations", next year promises and abundance of excitement with interesting events and festivities planned, such as theyear-long Skyride Festival, cultural themed events, family fun events , eco-tourism events, arts, music showcases, food promotions, shopping festivities and so much more!!

The MYFEST 2015 ' s logo is based on a traditional musical instrument known as the Rebana Ubi. Interestingly, drums are widely used by various major races here in Malaysia. Therefore the drum is a musical instrument which can be associated with Malaysia's multicultural society, in line with the spirit of 1 Malaysia. So, the logo design reflects an important part of the country's heritage, traditions and culture.

The campaign is also leveraging on smart partnerships with both the private and public sectors in line with he National Blue Ocean Strategy through an integrated public-private partnership that nurtures stakeholders engagement, support and participation.

The guests present at the event

Our Malaysian tourism sector remains resilient despite various challenges faced and Malaysia is still on the right track to achieve it's Visit Malaysia  Year 2014 target. The MYFEST  2015 campaign will continue to boost the tourism sector after the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 campaign. Stakeholders and industry players should be united and all Malaysians should come forward in the spirit of unity in the efforts to make Malaysia Year of Festivals 2015 a raging success.

The many tourism landscapes, unique blend of culture and heritage, abundance of biodiversity, cuisines, arts, crafts and architecture are qualities that have always put Malaysia on the map as a must- visit global destination. The Malaysia Year of Festivities 2015 will continue to leverage on Malaysia's iconic brand, "Malaysia, Truly Asia" to make the tourism campaign successful.

The MYFEST 2015 campaign is targeting to receive 29.4 million tourist arrivals with RM89 billion tourist expenditure.

A speech and presentation by Yang Bahagia Encik Rashidi Hasbullah , Deputy Chief Secretary (Tourism) Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia

Here, a group photo after giving away tokens of appreciation to some industry players

Handing over the MYFEST 2015 logo sticker to be placed on the Hop On and Hop Off buses. 

Thank you to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia for having me at your event.