Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) most crucial for cultural tourism to harmonize messages across various channels

Opinion
10 May 2026 • 3:00 PM MYT
Zulkifly Baharom
Zulkifly Baharom

An HR practitioner, Sejahtera Leadership Coach & Gusi Peace Prize Laureate.

Image from: Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) most crucial for cultural tourism to harmonize messages across various channels
IMC brings together diverse tools to communicate cultural significance to a wider audience, ensuring that heritage economically sustainable. Pix: Laras

I am grateful with my colleague, Adi Satria Ahmad of MyAeroSatu, who is the Chairman of UA Advertising Sdn. Bhd, for kindly invited me to attend the International Virtual Seminar on "IMC from the Cultural Perspectives 2026" in conjunction with Gombak Food Festival 4.0 on Tuesday evening 05 May. I was attracted with its catchy theme “Think Global, Act Local: Standardizing & Localizing IMC across Cultures” so, I decided to participate in the Google Meet together with many academes, scholars, researchers, PhD students & professionals, organized by International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

I learned from the international speakers at the seminar on the impact of IMC on cultural and Islamic tourism from the perspectives of Advertising, Public Relations, Promotion, Direct Marketing, Electronic Word of Mouth, Social Media & Digital Marketing. Based on the research results, some implications are proposed for managers of cultural tourism destinations & tourism businesses to develop appropriate key marketing strategies to attract tourists in general and young people in particular. They can choose cultural tourism, contributing to the development of the tourism industry for conservation of heritage.

Image from: Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) most crucial for cultural tourism to harmonize messages across various channels
Adi emphasized, “In a competitive market, combining traditional tools with digital strategies helps cultural destinations stand out by driving targeted visitor traffic without over-commercializing.” Pix: Adi

I acquired new knowledge from all the presentations especially “IMC: Islamic Cultural of Aceh Tourism” by Dr. Ahmad Nizam & Laras Nauna Daminiyart, from Universitas Syiah Kuala, Aceh, Indonesia; “Differences of Intercultural IMC: The Case of Turkiye-Malaysian” by Dr. Berfu Ilter from Afyon Kocatepe University, Turkey; and “IMC from a Cultural Perspective - Jeans, Country, and Media Empowerment” by Adi Satria of UA Advertising Sdn. Bhd.,Malaysia.

Image from: Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) most crucial for cultural tourism to harmonize messages across various channels
It was resolved at the seminar that “Instead of a 'one-size-fits-all approach, IMC allows 'glocalization', where a consistent global brand identity is adopted to meet local cultural expectations.” Pix: Norul

I fully agree that a unified message helps build strong brand equity and a positive, consistent reputation for unique cultural products. Through integrating various channels (advertising, PR, digital), destinations can reduce costs while simultaneously increasingly the persuasive impact of their messaging. With more improved visitor experience & loyalty, effective IMC strengthens visitor satisfaction and builds trust, increasing the likelihood of return (repeat) visits.

Zulkifly Baharom (hajizul50@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!

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