Association - Tourism Malaysia
TOURISM MALAYSIA, FEATURED in a previous issue of Asia Outlook, was formed as an agency under the former ministry of Trade and Industry, known as the Tourist Development Corporation of Malaysia (TDC) which was first established on 10 August, 1972.
The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism was formed on 20 May, 1987 and subsequently, TDC became a part of this new entity.
Having already visited Malaysia,
Aliza Mansor Senior Assistant
Director, Media Unit, Corporate Communications Division at Tourism Malaysia explains to Asia Outlook how the authority has developed and progressed with its key objectives in the country since we last spoke.
Asia Outlook (AsO): Since the last time we spoke, how has Tourism Malaysia developed and progressed in terms of its key objectives and the messages it tries to get across?
Aliza Mansor (AM): The “Malaysia, Truly Asia” tagline has worked wonders to position our destination’s diversity. It gets the message across that Malaysia is a kaleidoscope of customs, religions, traditions, festivals, heritage, arts and crafts, and cuisines of Malays, Chinese, Indians, and various ethnic group that continues to fascinate visitors from all over the world.
Malaysia has also premised itself as a diverse tourism destination that offers world-class attractions, including nature, shopping, adventure, islands and beaches, as well as many international events, providing visitors with a plethora of interesting choices. Besides that, the country is also a major destination for health tourism and MICE events.
This “Malaysia, Truly Asia” branding continues till today to position Malaysia’s uniqueness.
AsO: To this end, how would you say Malaysia in general has developed since then as a business travel hub and what are the key reasons behind its growing appeal?
AM: The Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), a nonprofit organisation, was established in 2009 by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia to grow the country’s business tourism industry. Its inception is in line with Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to elevate the country to developednation status by 2020.
MyCEB aims to further strengthen Malaysia’s global appeal and position as the leading destination for international meetings, incentives, conventions, trade exhibitions and major events. The bureau assists local and international exhibition organisers to bid, secure and stage successful exhibitions in Malaysia.
From 2010 to 2017, the bureau had secured a total of 958 events which translated to RM6.2 billion in visitor expenditure and RM11.5 billion in economic impact. Malaysia has an impeccable track record for hosting some of the world’s major international events, including F1; Moto GP; MTV World Stage; IRONMAN Malaysia Triathlon; K-Pop Concerts, and more.
The catalysts for success in this sector can be attributed to Malaysia’s political stability, world-class facilities, strategic location, variety of accommodation, favourable currency exchange rate.
AsO: Taking a more general industry stance, how would you evaluate the tourism sector in Malaysia now compared to its condition in 2017 and what key trends are driving such developments?
AM: In 2017, Malaysia registered
25.9 million tourist arrivals and RM82.1 billion in tourist receipts. Moving forward, Tourism Malaysia has developed the Integrated Promotion Plan 2018-2020 to drive Malaysia’s tourism industry forward and achieve its objectives and targets for the next three years – 33.1 million tourist arrivals and RM134 billion in tourist receipts for 2018, and 34.5 million arrivals and RM151 billion in receipts for 2019. The ultimate goal would be to achieve 36 million tourist arrival and a revenue of RM168 billion in 2020.
This plan has six outlined strategies:
• Optimise the use of the latest
information technology.
• Leverage on upcoming major events.
• Synergise with the development of mega projects.
• Enhance initiatives made under the NKEA.
• Maximise integrated marketing
campaigns.
• Promote Malaysia as a filming destination.
AsO: What is in store for Malaysia over the course of 2018 and beyond to continue the good work already commenced and to enhance its reputation as a tourism and business travel hub further in the future?
AM: Our immediate task is to take advantage of PATA Travel Mart, which we have won the bid to host in Langkawi this September. It is one of the first major tourism events we are hosting this year, presenting a key opportunity and an international platform for the promotion of Malaysia and Visit Malaysia Year 2020.
Further, Malaysia has been named as the ECTAA preferred destination partner for 2018 – a European travel agents and tour operators association that consists of 36 travel agent and tour operator associations from 30 European countries, and as the Official Partner Country at ITB Berlin 2019. These partnerships are expected to give Malaysia wider global publicity as well as access and opportunities to work closely with industry members in Europe.
Whilst we continue to focus on improving Malaysia’s domestic and international connectivity, Germany’s Condor Air has agreed to commence Frankfurt-KL connections beginning November, and Thomson Cruises have announced they will introduce a new
programme in Malaysia this Winter.