Rose Siu, Cathay Pacific; Tourism Malaysia's Sandra Ngoh-Fonseka; Mavis Lau, Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel & Fiona Wu, I & J Travel hamming it up in their Canadian themed garb
Goway Travel's Jim Silva with Ayesha Colquhoun & Tracy Kelvin of Indus Travel
Outgoing Tourism Malaysia V.P. Canada Kausar Kassim with Sandra Ngoh-Fonseka & Ann Leong
The Canadian travel trade gave Tourism Malaysia V.P for Canada Kausar Kassim a send that she will surely remember. Onboard a chartered yacht sailing around Coal Harbour, guests were decked out in full Canadian themed get ups and even Kassim sported the requisite red plaid shirt.
The event started off with a minute of silence for victims of both MH370 and MH17.
Besides being a farewell party, this evening was also an appreciation party to thank members of the industry. Tour operators were singled out and awarded personalized plaques recognizing their support of destination Malaysia.
“Your presence here speaks volumes”, said Kassim. “We want to thank you for the support you’ve given us.” Tourism is the 2nd largest foreign exchange earner netting RM65.4 billion in 2013, an increase of 8.1% compared to 2012. For the 1st quarter of 2014, Malaysia received 7.9 million visitors, a 10% rise from the same period last year. Out of that number, there were 36,391 Canadians, a 9.5% increase from 2013.
Kassim will be completing her stint in Canada at the end of September and will take on a yet to be divulged position at Tourism Malaysia’s head office in Kuala Lumpur. For the time being, there will not be any replacement for Kassim. Instead, the tourist board will operate with their 2 current staff members, Marketing Manager Sandra Ngoh-Fonseka and Marketing Executive Ann Leong. The Consulate General for Malaysia will oversee the Vancouver office while eastern Canada will be looked after by TM’s NYC office. Kassim encouraged guests going to Malaysia to stop in for a visit with her saying her “e-mail remains the same, so keep in touch”.
Formalities over, it was time to par-ty! Boy, did people let their hair down. With little hesitation initially, the dance floor soon filled up when the DJ churned out a lineup of hits from the 80s.
Guests were overheard saying they’ve never seen people enjoying themselves so much at an industry event. Even when the yacht docked at 10 pm, many were reluctant to leave. That was one appreciation party that will be talked about for many days to come.
