WhaleFin and Tourism Malaysia Deepen Partnership, Ushering in a New Era of Smart Outbound Tourism Marketing

At the 2025 ITB Shanghai travel trade show, what’s shaping up to be a significant partnership was solidified. Whale Drive Technologies, a leader in digital marketing solutions, and Tourism Malaysia formally exchanged a Memorandum of Collaboration (MOC), marking a strategic deepening of their relationship. This collaboration signals an ambitious push to elevate Malaysia’s tourism brand within the crucial Chinese market. The alliance seeks to leverage Whale Drive’s comprehensive digital marketing tools and cross-border services to enhance Malaysia’s digital presence and create a more seamless and intelligent travel experience for Chinese visitors.

_A scene from the MOC exchange between Whale Drive Technologies and Tourism Malaysia_

This agreement builds on the success of the “Journey to Malaysia” project launched in 2024. That initial collaboration saw Whale Drive’s resources deployed to highlight Malaysia’s unique cultural and scenic attractions through targeted advertising and other strategic initiatives, including promotional events at what were described as flagship store salons. Moreover, the project enhanced the travel experience for Chinese tourists with benefits such as free data roaming via Huawei SkyTone, and exclusive discounts at local Malaysian businesses. The results were notable, boosting exposure for Malaysian hotels, theme parks, and other tourism resources in the Chinese market and effectively fueling travel interest among potential visitors.

Now, the focus is on amplifying these gains. The partnership will combine Whale Drive’s marketing expertise to customize creative and localized content through global image event marketing, enhanced multimedia exposure, and user-generated content (UGC) campaigns. In conjunction with this push is the involvement of SkyTone, designated an official roaming partner by Tourism Malaysia. SkyTone will offer dedicated data packages for Malaysian travel alongside exclusive discounts at partner attractions, further driving exposure. The travel experience will be further bolstered by exclusive deals on attractions provided by local partners and featured as part of a “destination guide” section within the SkyTone app. That section will include curated recommendations for sightseeing and travel itineraries, all designed to enrich the traveler’s experience across platforms.

In a bid to showcase the full range of Malaysia’s tourism offerings, the partners will engage with key opinion leaders (KOLs) to craft immersive vlogs and in-depth travel guides. Adding a further layer of promotion, the “Huawei Southeast Asia User Image Exhibition” is being featured not only at the ITB Shanghai exhibition but at a Huawei flagship store in Shanghai. The exhibition features images by Huawei users from Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, delivering insights into the cultural and natural beauty of Southeast Asia for Chinese consumers. This initiative is designed to enhance the brand image of these tourism destinations and build greater brand recognition and affinity within the Chinese market.

The expectation is for substantial continued success from this collaboration. Looking ahead, Whale Drive intends to maintain an open approach to the global tourism sector and foster product-service development and expanding global marketing networks to help each tourism destination forge its own identity in the digital era.