MALAYSIA, 31 January 2023: Tourism Australia has announced the promotion of Karen Saw from her role as Business Development Manager to Country Manager in Malaysia, where she will take the lead in driving Tourism Australia's local market strategy.

In her new role, Karen is responsible for aligning the marketing and promotion of Australian tourism in Malaysia with Tourism Australia's strategy. She will also drive tactical conversion with aviation and distribution partners to target leisure consumers and Business Events opportunities.

Karen will continue to work closely with key stakeholders, from government departments and State Tourism Offices to airlines and industry partners, to develop products and experiences that drive tourism growth in Australia from Malaysia.

Karen joined Tourism Australia in 2009 as a Marketing Executive supporting PR, distribution, partnerships, trade events, and corporate services activities. She then took on the role of Business Development Manager in 2015, where she successfully developed and grew commercial partnerships and a distribution network in Malaysia.

Prior to joining Tourism Australia, Karen worked for five years with MSL Travel (one of the few travel agencies distributing Australia road trip itineraries at the time), where she fostered a passion for Australia as a destination.

Commenting on the milestone, Tourism Australia's South and Southeast Asia Regional General Manager, Brent Anderson, said Karen has not only demonstrated strong market knowledge over her extensive tenure but also established herself as an expert on Australia as a tourism destination and what it can offer to Malaysian leisure and business travellers.

“At Tourism Australia, we believe in providing opportunities for growth and role expansion, especially for our long-standing employees who have delivered outstanding results. Karen has led some of the best-performing partnerships with airlines and key distribution partners and has spearheaded effective conversion campaigns even while travel borders were closed during the pandemic. With Malaysia being our eighth largest source country[1], we look forward to Karen leading our new strategy and growing demand for Australian tourism in Malaysia,” said Mr Anderson.

Karen says she is excited to start what she expects to be an even busier year in her new role. The easing of travel restrictions in 2022 has seen a surge in enquiries and bookings, and consumer travel sentiment is increasing with passport applications and renewal seeing high demand.

Karen added, “Australia always stood out to me for its diverse range of experiences. It has been such a rewarding adventure to build Malaysia's affinity for Australia as a destination over the years. I am optimistic that Australia will continue to sit high on the list of   Malaysian travellers' top destinations, and I am excited to continue to be a part of this growth.”

ENDS

ABOUT TOURISM AUSTRALIA

Tourism Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for promoting Australia to the world as a destination for business and leisure travel. Tourism Australia's purpose is to increase the economic benefits of tourism to Australia, and in particular, seek opportunities to grow the overnight annual expenditure generated by tourism. 

The organisation is active in around 15 key markets, including Australia, where it aims to grow demand for the destination's tourism experiences by promoting unique attributes which will entice people to visit. Tourism Australia's activities include social and digital media, traditional advertising, public relations and media programs, trade shows and programs for the tourism industry, consumer promotions, online communications and consumer research.

For more information visit www.tourism.australia.com | www.facebook.com/seeaustralia  

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

Hsin Chen Yap

Account Executive, Baldwin Boyle Group

+ 65 9835 1374

hsinchen.yap@baldwinboyle.com

[1] Australia Bureau of Statistics. Short-term visitor arrivals - Top 10 source countries based on the month ending October 2022.