Hello Zafigo

According to a study conducted by Tourism Malaysia, one of our country’s biggest draws for tourists, near and far, is our rich culture and diversity. Apart from historical walking and food tours, it is cultural events, traditional and modern arts, theatre, and film that are what attract visitors to the country. In fact, both the arts and tourism industries are co-dependent on each other to survive.  In a brand new episode of Hello Zafigo, Marina Mahathir, who is back on hosting duty, chats to Low Ngai Yuen and Susan Lankester about Malaysia’s creative communities and how it defines this nation and its people. They also delve into how the arts and film culture draws visitors to Malaysia, or any destination for that matter, and discuss why the arts and tourism industries need each other.

Travelling is one of the best things to do in life. Now find out why trying out new food is the reason travelling is the best adventure!

Hello Zafigo is back for a third season and in the opening episode, host Marina Mahathir speaks to three major foodies who travel specifically to gain culinary inspiration – "queen of spice" Sapna Anand; chief eating officer of The BIG Group, Benjamin Yong; and Food Hero Asia winner, Ili Sulaiman. These gastronomes come together to talk about their tantalising adventures, delicious discoveries, and the flavourful inspirations behind some of their most popular ventures.

As the world slowly recovers from COVID-19 and borders start to open across many countries, travel will take on a whole new meaning. 2021 is (hopefully) set to be the year when travellers and travel businesses push for a return to normality, but the pandemic has and will continue to change how we choose to travel. 

So what travel trends can we expect to see in the new year – not just for travellers but for businesses within the tourism industry as well?  

In this last Hello Zafigo session for the year, Zafigo’s founder, Marina Mahathir gets insights from Rohan Raghavan, the Industry Manager for Travel at Google, and Emily Tan, the Marketing Lead for Klook Malaysia, and talk about what is in store for travel.

As we become more dependent on social media as a means for news and information, the value of social media influencers continues to grow and evolve. For the travel market specifically, social content seems to influence travellers’ destination choices more than any other type of advertising.  

While we may not be able to physically travel right now, we can still journey with our minds by revisiting memories through a travel journal to keep our wanderlust spirit alive!  

Travelling with children from a young age is an experience that can play a vital role in their growth. Much like how reading is instrumental to their development, the skills they acquire from the experiences and memories that travel brings are just as valuable. It can be said that travelling with children is beneficial to a parent’s development too, as it requires special skills such as preparedness and adaptability on their parts.

In this Hello Zafigo session, Marina Mahathir speaks to the Ardent Traveler, Deborah Chan, and the Special Projects Coordinator from Makchic, Lu Sean Seah, and discuss the importance of introducing travel to our children during their early years, how the current pandemic has affected (and may continue to affect) or changed such trips, and how we can still make the most of travelling locally.

There is something special about people who venture out alone to travel the world. Leaving the comforts of home is one thing; it’s still another to be without companionship as you visit new places and meet new people. Yet solo travel is – before the pandemic at least – booming, especially among younger people. What’s more, there are more women solo travellers than there are men.  

In Hello Zafigo’s sixth (and final) edition for this season, Marina Mahathir talks to two solo women explorers, Priscilla Patrick and Mei Mei Chu, about their solo travels, the issues they have faced, and so much more.

The ability to shift your mindset has never been more important than it is now.  As we come to realise “back to normal” no longer exists, how can we embrace the “new normal” while maintaining mental and emotional health? Marina together with women's health coach, Amanda Luukinen explore the ways we can make personal mindset shifts and how to live well staying in the same place since travel is not an option for the time being. Amanda also shares simple, effective tools you can use to help yourself maintain and improve mental and emotional wellbeing amidst all the changes.

For this session of Hello Zafigo, Marina Mahathir and Aisha Preece (founder of OutAndBeyond.com) discuss the different ways one can earn money online, all from the comfort of your own home.  

Aisha is a remote working guru who, after 10 years battling through the world of corporate banking, discovered various ways of earning an income online. This has given her the freedom and flexibility to travel to over 28 countries to date, without compromising her finances. Passionate about helping others learn how to make extra income online so they too can earn more, save more, and live more, she created Out and Beyond to provide resources and inspiration to help others live life on their own terms.  

Hustle From Home: Earn Extra Income Online touches on the various ways you can make money online, the skills you need, where to find the opportunities, and how to get started. Aisha also shares useful mindset tips that helped her get started, that you too can use in your own remote working search.