The travel bug has been around for as long as one could remember and travelling on a tour to interesting destinations around the globe is indeed alluring for many a soul. However, planning and arranging for one can be a daunting experience for most people if they were to do it all by themselves. This is where travel and tour companies come in handy to help them realise their dream holiday plans without the accompanying hassle and anxiety. In this issue, Top 10 of Malaysia takes a look at the top ten travel and tour companies in Malaysia (presented in no particular order) that have been honoured for their outstanding services in the travel and tour industry.
Apple Vacation
Established in 1996, Apple Vacation was founded by Dato’ Sri Lee Ee Hoe and Dato Sri Koh Yock Heng. This multiple award-winning homegrown travel company offers comprehensive travel services which include tour packages for travelling to any country around the world, customized travel arrangements, chartered flights, and holidays for Muslims. It has a travel academy and offers ticketing services and travel packages for inbound and outbound travels. Apple Vacation also has branch offices in Singapore, Jakarta and Tokyo.
Sri Sutra Travel
Founded by Dato’ Syed Mohd Razif Syed Yasin in 1988, Sri Sutra Travel is one of the leading travel consultancies and travel agencies in the country for business and leisure travel. Besides providing travel services for air, land and sea, it also offers services which includes tour and travel packages, hotel bookings plus services for convenience such as airport transfers, accommodation, car hire, tailored tours, bus and rail ticket reservations plus acquiring concert and sporting tickets. Sri Sutra organizes trips according to its clients’ personal preferences and arranges trips to over 100 countries. It also has connections to over 75,000 hotels for its clients to choose from.
Triways Travel Network
Founded in 1981 by Mohd Akil Mohd Yusof, Triways Travel Network has over 35 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry. It was initially a government appointed travel agency with the aim to promote Malaysia globally as a tourist destination. It specializes in ticketing services, inbound and outbound travels, trips for Umrah, travel insurance, business trips for individuals and companies, leisure tours, group trips, and other travel related services. Among the top preferred travel destinations selected by its clients are trips to Asia, Africa and Europe. Triway also provides tour packages to countries such as Balkan, Germany and Iceland.
Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel
Founded by Anthony Wong, Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel was established in 1976. This award-winning destination management company and professional conference organizer provides services such as hotel reservations, car and coach rental, ticketing, cruise tours, series tours, corporate incentive tours, adventure tours and eco nature tours, team building trainings locally and around Asia, travel insurance and even summer camps. With a staff force of over 130 and branches in Singapore and Cambodia, Asian Overland organizes tour trips within Malaysia and also guided trips to countries such as Cambodia, Singapore and Brunei.
PST Travel Services
Led by CEO, Dato Tan Boon Pun, PST Travel Services was established in 1972 and was formerly known as Peter Stuyvesant Travel Services, a company fully owned by Wawasan TKH Sdn Bhd. It started as a ticketing agency and is now a full-fledged travel management company with more than 180 employees. Its services cover ticket and reservation, hotel reservation, car rentals, conferences, seminars and incentive arrangements. PST is a strategic partner of BCD Travel and it offers integrated technology infrastructure providing analysis of travel data, allowing companies to maximize the return of travel investments. Among the travel destinations covered by PST are Korea, Sydney, Danang, Xi’an, Turkey and also Europe. The company has won over 200 awards and also has an inbound division trading known as Asia Experience.
Mayflower Holidays
Award winning company, Mayflower Holidays was established in 1960 and is a leading travel specialist and transport solutions provider catering to individuals and corporate bodies. It is a subsidiary of Warisan TC Holdings Berhad and its clients include a vast number of local, international and multinational companies, reputable hotels and ground operators. With over 500 staff and 19 offices and branches throughout Malaysia, Mayflower provides services such as airline ticketing, coach hire, car rental and automobile leasing, chauffer services, holiday packages and hotel reservations from over 150,000 hotels all over the world.
Reliance Travel
Established in 1969, Reliance Travel is one of the oldest travel management companies in Malaysia with branches overseas and a good network relationship with travel retailers and preferred agent partners exceeding 200 location points. It was also the first tour and travel company that was listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. Among its services are independent tour bookings, flight reservations, airline ticketing, accommodation bookings and customized tour packages. Reliance also organizes trips for family holidays, romantic getaways, honeymoons, business trips, incentive travels and group tours.
Hydramas Travel & Tours
Founded by CEO Alif Asraf Kamarun Zaman, Hydramas Travel & Tours was established in 1997 providing inbound, outbound and ticketing services. This award-winning company also organizes exhibition trips, big group tours, corporate clients with a networking relationship of over 30 airlines in the world. Hydramas was also the winner of the Malaysia’s Leading Travel Agency award in 2017 and 2018. Besides, its clients include the Malaysian government, Tourism Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Malaysian Timber Industry Board, Public Service Department Malaysia and University of Malaya.
Amazing Borneo Tours and Event
Amazing Borneo Tours and Event is a licensed land tour operator from Sabah, Malaysia. The company is supported by the Sabah Tourism Board and is the leading tour company in Sabah. With over 20 years of experience in the tourism industry, its team of travel enthusiasts and thrill seekers seek to educate travellers on Sabah’s conservational nature and promote Sabah globally. Besides that, it also customises travel packages to ensure that guests would have a wonderful travel experience in Sabah. Among the activities and places arranged by Amazing Borneo Tours are climbs at Mount Kinabalu and water-related activities such as water rafting and boat snorkeling at Kota Kinabalu.
Columbia Leisure Sdn Bhd
Award-winning Columbia Leisure Sdn Bhd is a one of Malaysia’s leading inbound travel agency serving over 65,968 clients. With over 25 years of experience, it provides services such as tours and transfers, coach and van rental, special interest tour, hotel reservations, fit and group tour packages, car hire, special tailor-made holidays, VIP retreat, honeymoons and weddings. It has received the Best Local Tour Operator award during the 19th Malaysia Tourism Awards 2014/2015 and has also been awarded the ISO 9001:2008 certificate for quality performance.