More being done to make tourists shop in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Efforts are underway to enhance tourists’ shopping experience in Malaysia.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the initiatives include improving businessfriendly policies and developing more facilities for shoppers.

She said the ministry was targeting 36 million visitors with RM171.6bil in receipts by 2020. To date, the industry had garnered 24.7 million tourist arrivals and RM58.3bil in receipts.

“We are working at enhancing businessfriendly policies and developing facilities,’’ she said at a dinner organised by the Malaysian Shopping Malls Association (PPK) on Thursday.

Dr Ng said the Government wanted Malaysia to be on par with other shopping havens globally.

In his welcoming speech, PPK president H.C. Chan said the local shopping industry had achieved RM83bil in revenue and provided employment to 500,000 people.

He said the industry was an important element in strengthening the nation’s economy and that it had benefited from key initiatives under the Economic Transformation Programme.

Earlier in SERDANG, Dr Ng said Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) had the potential to be turned into a tourist attraction due to its surrounding natural beauty.

She said the 100,000 species of rare plants, flowersandfruits found throughout the 1,100ha campus could definitely attract tourists.

“We will develop a tourism trail in UPM to introduce tourists to the unique natural resources in Malaysia,” she said after opening the Nature’s Yield and Wonders of Art exhibition at the university.