Find out why Gen Y tourists refuse 2nd visit to M'sia, says former Aussie minister - ANN
Malaysia has to find out why many "Generation Y" tourists do not return for a second visit, said a former Australian minister.
Fran Bailey, who was a former Small Business and Tourism minister, said with Visit Malaysia Year 2014 around the corner, this was the best time for Malaysia to develop targeted programmes to woo young travellers.
The best way to attract the Gen Y, she said, was by engaging with them directly via social media to find out what they wanted.
"It may be affordable accommodation or better accessibility to tourist spots," said Bailey, who held the minister's post from October 2004 to November 2007, and is well versed in tourism trends.
"By using social media, the (Malaysian) government can reach out to a huge Gen Y audience," she pointed out.
Gen Y generally refers to those born between the early 1980s to the early 2000s.
The global youth travel industry is estimated to represent almost 190 million international trips each year, growing faster than the rate for overall global travel.
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation had predicted that by 2020, there would be almost 300 million international youth trips every year.
Bailey cited Australia's A$4 million (US$3.7 million) "Best Jobs in the World" campaign in 2009 – which offered six "extraordinary jobs" to collectively showcase the best of the country – as one of its programmes to attract youths.
The successful applicants were offered a six-month salary of up to A$100,000 (US$94,150) and tasked with writing about their region and experiences, which they then shared through social media channels and blogs.
More than 40,000 video entries were uploaded by youths all over the world, vying for the six jobs under the programme that contributed nearly A$12 billion (US$11.3 billion) in tourism spending that year.
"In Australia, we have a 54 per cent return rate for Gen Y travellers.
"But this did not happen overnight. It took us many years to achieve this," said Bailey, who is on a visit to Malaysia.
Sent from Goay Joe Lie
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