JAN 27 — Tourism has been the worst-hit sector of Malaysia’s economy in the Covid-19 pandemic.
After all, the movement control order (MCO) which is meant to curtail the spread of the virus works against the very essence of the sector, effectively impeding the businesses of hospitality, entertainment, tours, travel, meetings, expositions, concerts, sporting events and social gatherings.
Many discussions have been held at various levels to address the economic impact of the lockdown and prolonged travel restrictions.
The most common word in 2020 was a “new normal” and the appropriate preventive action to ensure public health and safety.
But let's leave the battle with this virus to the medical practitioners and healthcare providers and examine what the factors are that should be addressed to arrive at this “new normal” for the tourism industry.
The overall performance of the tourism sector of Malaysia has been badly affected by a series of incidents even before the pandemic.
Our share of negative publicity has been deafening. It ranges from security incidents involving our airlines and airports, immigration issues involving illegal immigrants and foreign workers, the cost and inconvenience of visa applications, facilities and general traveller safety.
The political campaign in the build-up to the 14th general elections in 2018 capitalised on allegations relating to the mismanagement of public enterprises, abuse of power by the authorities and unchecked corruption in the government.
All this negative publicity was left unchecked and very little attempt was made to contain and correct them. Thus little was done to reverse the negative perception of safety and security in the country.
These factors are essential elements for the survival of any tourist destination.
To further compound the situation, neighbouring countries in Asean and new tourism destinations in the region and around the world shifted into high gear when promoting their destinations, coupled with vibrant and strong national economies and political stability.
Countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan saw huge growths in their tourism industries during this period. Malaysia, on the other hand, had been seeing a decline in tourism arrivals since 2014.
With the developments that we witnessed, it is quite obvious that the new “normal” will be to look back on the situation in Malaysia some 20 years ago and to do everything that was done then to enjoy the benefits of robust and expanding international tourist arrivals and industry development.
Common sense suggests that we have to reverse the undue tendency of the past few years to conserve our resources by cutting back on promotions and shrinking our organisational network and operations.
There are no two ways about it; there is a need for greater investment in advertising and promotions and expansion of our operations.
Needless to say, we cannot expect more tourists to arrive onto our shores by doing less. We cannot grow our market size and share by shrinking our communications and transport networks.
We cannot correct the negative perception and rebuild our image without working with the media and travel intermediaries for which capital injections is essential.
More than anything else is the need to capitalise on the expertise of industry practitioners with the right knowledge and experience to address major policy issues.
In this regard, the various organisations responsible for the industry must be re-examined.
To begin with, the representation on Tourism Malaysia Board and its operational autonomy must be restored. The participation of the heads of the Malaysia Association of Hotels (MAH), Malaysian Association of Tours and Travel Agents (MATTA) and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as our national carrier, alongside other industry representatives on its board line-up is crucial.
The skill and experience of tourism industry professionals should be duly capitalised.
Tourism, as a composite industry, thrives on networking, teamwork and strong personal relationships.
Without faith and confidence, it will cease to exist. This is where the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board or Tourism Malaysia’s strength lies.
Staff with vast experience should be given due support and recognition. Their links with the travel industry should be encouraged and appreciated.
The tendency to doubt this relationship in the past, leading to a series of baseless allegations of impropriety and the undue publicity that ensued, has left a mixed perception on the overal integrity of the organisation. This must be corrected.
This matter needs understanding and should always be fact checked. Undue suspicion and continued mistrust by the authorities will only complicate issues and hamper any attempt to get the best performance out of this set of well-exposed and professional staff.
In the last few years, a number of other government linked companies and agencies were formed, both at the state and federal level, that duplicate the role and functions of Tourism Malaysia.
The budgets allocated to these organisations depleted the financial resources available for a focused and extensive international advertising and promotions campaign over a period of several years.
As such, the functions and continued existence of these organisations should be reviewed.
The savings from their operations should be consolidated to enable a more extensive and effective global promotions campaign.
Given the current scenario and the deep anxiety on the need to revive the industry, the “new normal” for tourism needs a revisit of Malaysia’s tourism industry that dates back to the effects of the currency crisis of 1998.
And then charting a path for correcting identified weaknesses, shortcomings or potential opportunities by way of an intensive campaign, both strategic and integrated, as was done then.
The campaign during this period of between 1999 to 2007 has been acknowledged worldwide as one of the most effective, and outstanding in the quantifiable results achieved.
The growth of tourist arrivals to Malaysia then was unprecedented and remains exemplary to many National Tourism Organisations.
There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Let the industry pundits who have survived this period and remain active and ready to serve, do their part for the final years of their service.
* Mirza Mohammad Taiyab Beg is the chairman of the Association of Ex-Staff of Tourism Malaysia (AESTOM).