Melaka taps Lazada to host e-bazaar to support local tourism

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The Melaka State Government and Lazada have collaborated to host a “Melaka E-Bazaar” page on the eCommerce platform’s site in a joint effort to support the local tourism industry.

The E-bazaar’s landing page on Lazada now showcases Melakan travel and hospitality products through the eCommerce platform's ongoing “Buy Now, Travel Later” campaign in conjunction with the celebration of Melaka World Heritage City UNESCO Day. This collaboration is an initiative by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia to enhance the synergy and cooperation among the tourism and culture industry players towards making Malaysia the preferred tourist and cultural destination.

The three-month-long “Buy Now, Travel Later” campaign aims to rebound economic activity for over 1,000 Melakan businesses that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Online shoppers are able to purchase open-date tickets, with a validity period of about one year, on the page to utilise later to book vacations and accommodation, once travel restrictions have been lifted.

According to the joint press release statement, travel-starved Malaysians will also be able to benefit from the campaign as they can enjoy deals on “Buy Now, Travel Later” tickets from popular Melaka tourism attractions, including travel packages, hotel and homestay packages, variety of Melaka local products, among others. Lazada users can also collect special discount vouchers on the “Melaka E-Bazaar” page. Lazada declined to share the monetary investment of the campaign and the business ROi it hopes to achieve.

Local micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) will also be eligible for Lazada’s Pakej Pintar Niaga (smart business) stimulus package. MSMEs and homegrown entrepreneurs are encouraged to take advantage of the benefits offered by the initiative, such as the waiver of listings fees, access to Lazada University's training, Seller Centre's innovative tools, advertising credits, high-traffic exposure slots, “Free Shipping” incentives, 90-day dedicated support, among others. Darren Rajaratnam, chief operating officer, Lazada Malaysia told A+M separately that the package was developed with helping local MSMEs digitalise at zero cost in mind.

Citing its recent Mid-Year Sale as an example, Rajaratnam said participating MSMEs have nearly doubled year on year on Lazada, with the top-selling MSME breaking “far beyond the million-ringgit mark just during this sale alone”. The company has also seen the rakyat play an active role in spurring the nation’s economic recovery through online consumption, which has helped Malaysian MSMEs on Lazada triple their order volumes compared to the previous year’s Mid-Year Sale, he added. The launch of the “Buy Now, Travel Later” campaign, held in conjunction with the Mid-Year Sale will help Melakan businesses benefit from the increased traffic on Lazada for optimal customer outreach, Rajaratnam said.

Sa’ari Basiron, GM, Tourism Melaka, said that the partnership with Lazada comes “at the right time as the pandemic has adversely impacted Malaysia's tourism industry”. She added that tapping into Lazada's customer base across the country hopes to help generate sustainable cash flow for struggling Melakan businesses and provide relief for the local travel industry.

To help local MSMEs, the MDEC also launched its Go-eCommerce Onboarding and Shop Malaysia Online (SMO) campaigns as part of the Belanjawan 2021 (National Budget) initiatives, with both campaigns scheduled to run from now until 31 December 2021. The Go-eCommerce Onboarding and SMO campaigns aim to reduce operation costs and ensure businesses leverage on new opportunities, as well as strengthening the agility and resilience of local businesses. It also seeks to increase consumers’ confidence to buy from local producers and businesses, ensuring that Malaysian businesses remain viable and competitive.

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