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PETALING JAYA: The creation of tourism investment zones, making Malaysia an ecotourism destination and stimulating domestic travel are among the key strategies to regenerate the industry that has suffered losses of RM100bil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, says the Prime Minister Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He announced a 10-year plan under the National Tourism Policy 2020-2030 that will create the tourism investment zones along with five other main drives to improve the local tourism industry.
He said the policy was a much-needed measure to revive tourism.
“The government is aware of and sensitive to the great obstacles faced by players in the tourism industry.
“The United Nations World Tourism Organization has predicted that it will take two to four years for the global tourism sector to recover.
“This is a long time and it will definitely be a great challenge for those involved directly and indirectly,” he said yesterday at the virtual launch of the National Tourism Policy 2020-2030 organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture.
Muhyiddin said that in 2019, the tourism industry contributed 15.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) worth RM240.2bil.
Important notice: A man watching Muhyiddin’s speech during the virtual launch of the 2020-2030 National Tourism Policy. – Bernama
“The tourism industry workforce registered 3.6 million people who contributed 23.6% of the total workforce. This means that out of every four jobs in Malaysia, one is linked to the tourism industry.
“In the initial stage, we can regenerate the tourism industry by activating domestic tourism, since the borders are still closed, and restore our people’s confidence in visiting local tourist sites,” he said.
Muhyiddin said that the National Tourism Policy 2020-2030 would be implemented through six main strategic axes: transformation of the administration, investment zones in inclusive tourism, consolidation of the digitization of tourism, improvement of demand sophistication, reinforcement commitment to sustainable and responsible tourism and improvement of human capital in all sub-sectors.
The development of the tourism industry based on digital technology is important to ensure that the policy objective is achieved.
“Advances in technology can strengthen the network between the industry and provide opportunities for innovative new subsectors of the tourism industry, which in turn can create business and employment opportunities.
“Technology-focused tourism investment centers are encouraged.
“Under this policy, Malaysia will establish inclusive tourism investment zones to increase public and private cooperation and attract more local and foreign investors,” he added.
“As a responsible government, it is important to ensure a balance between the development, protection and preservation of the country’s treasures, including the environment, culture and heritage.
“Our goal is to rate Malaysia as the ‘World’s Leading Ecotourism Destination.’
“I believe that preserving resources can stimulate new economic growth and create job opportunities. This policy is part of our efforts in Malaysia’s commitment to the United Nations sustainable development goals, ”said Muhyiddin.
The virtual launch was attended by the Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
He said the policy was intended to make Malaysia the world’s top tourist option and would be a yardstick for economic growth that would subsequently create an impact on the national economy.
“The policy will mark the strategic direction of tourism in the country and will focus on sustainable tourism and generate more tourism income,” he added.
He also said that Malaysia had received awards as a tourist-friendly country, which was proof that the industry could regenerate again under the National Tourism Policy.
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