Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) will be holding an e-travel fair to boost recovery of domestic tourism, as well as to gauge travel trends among domestic consumers.

Its president, Uzaidi Udanis, said around 200 virtual exhibitors have committed to the MITA e-travel fair, which will run from July 1 to July 15.

The association will provide daily reports to participants on the products and services that have received positive response from the public. He said: “This is a way of finding out the interests of domestic travellers, and for our members to understand the market and travel trends better.”

A recent survey conducted by MITA revealed that the cost of travel packages, as well as travel expenses and proximity of the destination were the two most pressing concerns to travellers, Uzaidi said.

This is the first e-travel fair MITA is organising for its members, following the lifting of the ban on interstate travel on June 10.

Earlier in March, MITA’s first e-travel fair was cut short after three days, when the movement control order came into force on March 18.

This time round, the e-travel fair has an insurance component. For a RM4 (US$0.93) premium, the traveller will be covered up to RM10,000 for travel cancellations and medical expenses related to Covid-19. The insurance is underwritten by Senang Insurance.

Uzaidi said: “The insurance coverage is meant to restore confidence in travel which in turn, will help the local economy to recover.”

Tourism, arts and culture minister, Nancy Shukri, said in a recent announcement that the local tourism industry has lost around RM45 billion in the first half of 2020 due to the pandemic. She described tourism as being the hardest hit sector, and expected it to be the last to recover.