Tourism Malaysia unveils new Visit Malaysia 2020 logo inspired by batik

After months of anticipation, Tourism Malaysia has unveiled the new Visit Malaysia 2020 (VMY2020) logo with a style inspired by Malaysian batik. The logo features the rhinoceros hornbill perched on the left, illustrating the unique fauna and eco-adventures that Malaysia has to offer.The top right of the logo features the red hibiscus, also known as bunga raya in Bahasa Malaysia which loosely translates to "flower of celebration". The flowers represent the celebration of cultural diversity in Malaysia. Meanwhile, the wild fern below the hibiscus, locally known as paku pakis, is an edible plant that is a favourite among all races in Malaysia. Hence, making it an apt representation of the unique flavours of Malaysian cuisine.The blue, red and yellow colours used in the logo represent the colours of the Jalur Gemilang. Also, the orange colour illustrates the year-round sunshine Malaysia receives, while the green colour represents the abundance of nature in Malaysia. The focus on hornbill, batik, the national flower and the multi-colour theme reflects the country's desire look deep within, appreciate what it has, and showcase it to the world with pride, Tourism Malaysia said.According to Tourism Malaysia, each element in the logo individually showcases the diversity of experiences a tourist may embark on only on Malaysian soil. In addition to giving foreign tourists a taste of Malaysia’s bountiful offerings, the features in the logo also urges local Malaysians to advocate the preservation of our country’s identity as the nation moves forward in this fast-moving era of globalisation.While the country previously hosted four Visit Malaysia years since 1990, VMY2020 will be held with "a renewed vigour and passion", Tourism Malaysia said. Malaysia aims to achieve 30 million international tourist arrivals and RM100 billion tourist receipts by 2020 through VMY2020, with the campaign focusing on ecotourism, arts and culture.To ensure the campaign’s success, Tourism Malaysia has partnered with several private sector corporations such as Sharp Electronics, Malaysia Airlines (MAB), AirAsia, Firefly, Malindo Air and Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB), to implement marketing and promotional activities utilising their local and international media platforms. Hours after the launch, MAB was the first airline to take the new VMY2020 logo to the skies via flight MH386 that departed KL International Airport to Shanghai operated by its A330-200 aircraft.In addition, a RM5 million fund called GAMELAN Malaysia has been made available to provide financial support to Malaysian tourism industry players which organise marketing and promotional activities to promote Malaysia as a business and leisure destination.To enhance air connectivity and bring in more passengers into Malaysia, Tourism Malaysia and MAHB have tied up with various international airlines such as Condor Air, Air Arabia and Busan Air in launching new routes into Malaysia from key international destinations. Furthermore, Visa on Arrival facilities have been expanded to 13 entry points in Malaysia, ensuring a hassle-free entry for China and India nationals, two of the fastest growing outbound tourist markets in the world, Tourism Malaysia said.Created by a graphic designer from Melaka named Alfred Phua, the new logo was selected from hundreds of submissions nationwide after a competition was held to amend the previous VMY2020 logo, which netizens mocked mercilessly. Designed to look like a postage stamp, the previous logo carried the tagline "Travel. Enjoy. Respect" and featured an an orangutan with its arm around a proboscis monkey and a turtle on the beach, as well as the Petronas Twin Towers in the background. Meanwhile, the country's Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is expecting about 30 million tourist arrivals by next year through its VMY2020 campaign.Separately, statistics from Meltwater which measured online sentiment from 22 to 23 July, showed that 33% of the reactions were positive, while only 10% were negative. Meanwhile, the love emoji was the top-used emoji while the second most popular emoji was sadness followed by joy.[gallery link="file" ids="266683,266685,266684,266686"]Read also: Lack of funding for Tourism Malaysia causing country to lose out, says ministry Tourism Malaysia calls for global creative and media pitch