Malaysia Airlines pushes authentic cultural experiences with LokaLocal tie-up

Malaysia Airlines’ (MAB) frequent flyer programme Enrich has collaborated with homegrown travel marketplace LokaLocal to reward members when they join its local tours, activities, and workshops. The activities include cultural workshops, craft classes, heritage walks, cooking classes, private dining, adventure tours and social impact experiences.

According to MAB, the partnership will expose global travellers to alternative travel options beyond the usual sights and sounds, in support of Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM2020). LokaLocal aims to unlock more local experience in multiple cities in 2020, as well as launch its mobile app by the end of February. LokaLocal focuses on connecting explorers to local experiences hosted by passionate locals, which aims to improve their outreach while creating job opportunities and preserving their cultures. Currently, it has over 500 activities and day tours across various states in Malaysia and Laos. In celebration of this partnership, MAB is giving away two times the number of miles to members when they book on LokaLocal until 31 February 2020.

MAB's group chief marketing and customer experience officer Lau Yin May said the partnership is in line with its Fly Malaysia campaign, where it promotes Malaysia as the preferred destination for VM2020.

"LokaLocal also compliments our brand promise of Malaysian Hospitality, whereby members can immerse in authentic experiences and learn about Malaysia’s rich culture and heritage," she added.

Meanwhile, LokaLocal's CEO Chin Yoon Khen said the company is honoured to join forces with MAB to promote the unique attractions and hidden gems of Malaysia.

“LokaLocal’s partnership with Enrich is a great way to elevate the experience of travellers coming to Malaysia. They can benefit from exploring any destination like a local, whether is it batik painting, having a meal with a new friend or visiting Sungai Lima with a village chief," Chin added.

Last month, MAB inked a code-sharing partnership with Turkish Airlines to enable both parties to tap into new markets and provide passengers more travel options. The agreement will also offer more comfortable travel opportunities to passengers, who have already been transported under the existing commercial cooperation between the two airlines since 2017. In October, MAB also signed a wide-ranging commercial agreement with Singapore Airlines to develop tourism, the sharing of revenue on flights between Singapore and Malaysia, and expanding codeshare routes.

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