Last Sunday, I decided to check out the MATTA(Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents) fair after hearing about it for the very first time in March. Since everybody says there are cheap deals and since I love travelling, why not!?
It was held at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) which is easily accessible by the LRT along the Sentul Timur line. It wasn't difficult to find the place, even though it was my first time there. I just followed the crowd and finally, I was there.
At first, I bumped into the airlines section where there were many airlines, each boasting about the incredible low fares and true enough, there were a lot of good deals. There were numerous airlines, the famous MAS, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Korean Air and so on. Strangely, I did not find AirAsia or other budget airlines or maybe I just did not happen to see them. But true enough, there were some really good deals for the big airlines.
Personally, I find the long haul destinations very worth it. For example, tickets to France were on average around 2.4K (return and all-inclusive) which is really cheap for a European destination, bearing in mind that you can go to so many more nearby European countries once you reached there. London was priced a little bit higher, at 2.6K on average. People can also choose to go USA for a mere 3.5K(NY, Washington, Miami) or even a mere 2.3K (to San Fran/Boston/Honolulu), all offered by MAS. SIMPLY UNBELIEVABLE!!! On the other hand, the short hauls are relatively good too but you can always double check with the low-budget airlines as well, to make a better choice. But, it also depends on the level of comfort and budget you want for your flight. Low budget airlines would be most probably cheaper but more crammed. I do definitely recommend going to MATTA fair with you wanna buy for long haul destinations. MATTA fair is usually in March and in September (in KL). Short hauls can always be cheap with so many budget airlines around.
Other interesting thing is that you can also buy other stuffs rather than just tickets during the fair. There is a section for all travel accessories/goods. For example you can get travelling bags (as low as Rm 499 for a set of 3 luggage bags), winter wear, powerpanks, beanies, gloves, backpacks, etc... However this section is small and it would be great if they could include more sellers and variety of products related to travel.
The main section was governed by the countless travel agencies, each advertising about their different packages and a fee of Rm 4 applies. There was one hall for inbound destinations and another hall for outbound destinations. Depending on the travel agencies, some packages would include airtickets and some might not. Some are only concerned with ground tours. I made a few rounds and there are some pretty good deals but to be honest, I find it difficult to buy a package, unless you really know your exact dates and you have a lot of money. There are so many agencies offering different packages and the least would be to go around and compare the differences and then get an idea. To be frank, this would be a real headache for me. It is like going to Low Yat to buy a phone but you have very competitive prices and deals of the phone on every floors and thus, it makes it a difficult decision. Moreover, there are numerous people and there is a lot of waiting time before you get information from the tour agents. But you can always take your time and find the deals that you want. However, it would be best if your travel dates are within the period until the next matta fair. If your travel dates are too far, they might not want to entertain you.
One thing that attracted me was the Matta Academy. They propose a few courses if you want to know more about the travel industry. All the prices for the courses are discounted during Matta fair. After the fair, the prices are back to normal.The courses proposed are as follow:
1- Tourist Guide Course
Basically, a tour guide course, priced at Rm 5000 instead of Rm 6000. (5 months course)
2- Tour Leader Course
A professional tour leader is important to ensure group travelers are well looked after and have a memorable holiday. A 2-day course at Rm 350 (Normal price: Rm 600). This is ideal if you have a full time job and you want to travel for free during your weekends.
3- Tour Coordinator
This course is more to travel and tours operation (more to the management/marketing side). A 2- day course priced at Rm 350 (Normal price: Rm 600).
4- Driver Guide
Training to have the desired skills/knowledge for a driver guide. A 3-day course at Rm 500 (Normal price: Rm 700).
5- Airline Reservation
Ticket tracking, reservation and issuance. A 3-day course at Rm 350.
6- Airline Ticketing
More to the ticket tracking, fare record tracking, deletion of fare record, etc... A 2-day course at Rm 300.
I was personally interested in the tour leading course which can help me to get a part time job in the future.
To conclude, MATTA fair is a really good place for cheap deals but I advise that you have a good idea of what you want when you go there, that makes things a lot easier rather than you going through various deals to make up your mind of where to go. Know where you want to go and when, research a bit on the place(s) you want to go and if you are travelling in groups, make sure that everyone is on the same page about the trip details!
Visit the following for more details:
http://www.mattafair.org.my/index.php/en/state-matta-fair
The fair moves around Malaysia the year round, so stay tuned on their calendar on the link above. ;)
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