MY communications ministry to aid tourism ministry in reviving industry

The Communications and Multimedia Ministry (KKMM) will continue to assist the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) in reviving Malaysia's tourism industry as restrictions for inter-district travel ease up. Quoting communications and multimedia minister Saifuddin Abdullah, Bernama said KKMM will help MOTAC promote places of interest through broadcast via the national news agency and RTM.

Saifuddin said the Malaysian National Film Development Corporation (FINAS) will be able to help MOTAC restore the tourism sector using short videos and documentaries. He added that private companies keen on producing promotional tourism videos can apply for grants through the Malaysian Creative Industry Stimulus Package. According to him, the resurgence of tourism activities would help several industries which were impacted by the pandemic to get back on their feet, including bus and taxi drivers and petty traders, Bernama reported.

Like many other countries, Malaysia's tourism industry was also impacted by the pandemic. Statistics from Tourism Malaysia showed that tourism receipts dipped by 85.27% last year to RM12.7 billion, compared to RM86.14 billion in 2019. Tourist arrivals for 2020 dropped to 4.33 million from 26.1 million. Meanwhile according to a survey done by Tourism Malaysia between 25 September to 19 October 2020, 65.1% of the 12,281 respondents said they have travelled domestically for leisure holidays. From that total, 75.3% have travelled domestically more than once.

Meanwhile to encourage more visits to local zoos, Tourism Malaysia launched the Cuti-Cuti Malaysia “Santai di Zoo” stimulus campaign in January in collaboration with Zoo Negara, Zoo Melaka dan Zoo Taiping and Night Safari. More than 70,000 tickets are offered as part of the campaign. Separately, AirAsia is also doing its bid to help revitalise Malaysia's as well as ASEAN's tourism industry. Just last week, it rolled out unlimited access to its international and domestic flights to "serve as a catalyst as the ASEAN tourism industry gears itself for a post-COVID revival", group CEO Tony Fernandes said. The unlimited access to flights follows the success of its AirAsia Unlimited Pass last November, which allows consumers to buy now and travel later. The pass previously sought to stimulate domestic tourism in markets such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

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Photo courtesy: 123RF

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