Kota Kinabalu: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) hopes the new Unity Government will place greater emphasis on tourism as one of the key pillars of the Malaysian economy.
Its President Datuk Tan Kok Liang said the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac), in a recent statement, said the Government aims to attract 15 million tourists and gain revenue of RM47.6 billion from the tourism industry in 2023.
“This is a significant decrease from pre-pandemic levels of 26 million tourists with RM86.1 billion in revenue in 2019.
“The forecast does not bode well as these numbers indicate that there just isn’t enough business to support the Malaysian tourism economy in 2023. There needs to be transformation; a fresh, more strategic and dynamic approach to how we are going to accelerate the recovery and growth of our tourism economy,” he said.
Tan said Matta hopes the appointment of Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing as the new Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture will provide that drive and initiative.
“In fact, Motac’s scope of responsibility should be widened to include infrastructure development and tourism vehicles in order to be effective, otherwise it is in danger of becoming a ‘toothless tiger’ as it does not regulate anything else except for minor sectors within the tourism eco-system.
“It is now an absolute necessity that special attention be placed on developing tourism infrastructure and products – merely focusing on promotions and marketing will not be effective if we have nothing new or of significance to offer the world.
“Failing which the tourism industry may not be able to move out from its current state of stagnation while our Asean neighbours continue to register healthy tourism growth.”
Tan said Matta works proactively with the government of the day to develop and grow the Malaysian tourism industry.
“We have played many roles which include the promotion of Malaysian tourism domestically and abroad through its Matta Fairs and online travel platform, its many trade missions to key and emerging source markets and, most significantly, its regional and international engagements with governments and other national trade and tourism organisations.
“More importantly, other ministries need to pay more than just lip service to the idea of tourism as a major economic asset – we need the various related government agencies, most notably the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Home Affairs (Immigration) and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
“They must align with Motac and look into streamlining the regulatory processes and to re-evaluate the many restrictive and outdated policies to ensure that tourism businesses can recover and remain competitive,” he added.
Tan said Matta is looking forward to working closely with the new Minister.
“Matta will play its part in supporting the Ministry and we hope that there will be more active engagement with the private sector towards this shared goal,” he added.
He also called on the Government to consider the continuation of post-Covid tourism recovery policies, allocate more incentives and funding for industry players and to urgently look into the modernisation of the Tourism Industry Act 1992, licensing policies and outdated regulations.
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.