MATTA Fair 2019 Highlights – Travel Trends For Year 2019

First of the two MATTA Fair 2019 has come to an end yesterday. The 2nd half of the event will be held sometimes this September. I went to the event on Sunday, the last day of the 3-day event which held from 15th- 17th March 2019. Huge crowds were seen flocking in and finding empty car park lot was next to impossible. After exploring the event, here I would love to recap some of the event highlights which reflect the travel trends for year 2019.

Travel Trends for year 2019

This half-yearly travel fair is undoubtedly the biggest and most popular travel event. It offers the best opportunity for travelers and families who wish to grab some great deals for their travel plans or simply look for new travel ideas for the upcoming Spring and Summer seasons.

This March event traditionally focuses on deals and packages for the next 6 months while the September fair will target more on fall and Winter tour packages.

Overseas Travel is still the sought after option

As usual, Hall 1 and 2 received the most visitors where we saw tremendous responses from those who seek after overseas tour packages.

The destinations in the limelight this year are still Japan and Korea, on where you would find the most deals and packages, and special cultural events being held around the clock during the fair.

We were happy to see that Taiwan bounced back strong this year with Taiwan Tourism Bureau being one of the main sponsors of MATTA Fair 2019 event. Various events introducing Taiwanese distinctive cultures were organized at Taiwan travel booths.

Japan and Korea are still in the limelight

For the past few years, Japan and Korea travels have always been the ‘in’ destinations for Malaysian travelers. Tour operators promoting travel packages to these favourite places have attracted the most crowds.

Other popular destinations and countries which include European countries, Australia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand, are also being promoted with tempting deals and offers.

Apart from these mainstream overseas destinations, full fledged packages touring niche destinations such as Nepal, Bhutan, Turkey, Latin America, Guam, and Russia were also tailored awaiting interested travelers.

In-depth Travel Are Getting Popular

What we welcomed most are perhaps the varieties of tour packages offered this year. Unlike previous events where travel packages were mostly introductory tours to main cities or regions of a country, they are slowly evolved into in-depth travels with specially tailored experiences.

Other secondary cities and regions such as Hiroshima, Kyushu, Pyeongchang and Yeosu are introduced, and deeper exploration to popular cities are customized.

This perhaps is the results of various bad experiences vacationers faced with all-inclusive packages and bad reputations of Chinese tour operators.

Celebrity tour guides as an option

Relatively new travel concept of celebrity led touring packages are getting more popular and recognition. Many tour operators are organizing special travel packages to hot destinations with celebrities being the tour guides or tour leaders. Off course, premium fares are expected to join these tour plans.

Last but not least, cruise vacation is something of a hit-and-miss travel idea. Many people loves it but have never tried it. High cost and seas travels could be the hindrance. This year we saw Royal Caribbean cruises put up a big event booth for the exclusive idea. I kinda like the idea which I think it should be added to any traveler’s bucket list.

Have this travel trends for year 2019 evoked you in your annual travel plan? Let me know by commenting below. Happy travel! – Travel Feeder