KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi recently held an engagement session with tourism industry players in preparation for Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026).

The session was attended by Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac) secretary-general Datuk Roslan Abdul Rahman, Tourism Malaysia director-general Manoharan Periasamy and other top officials.

At the meeting, Zahid obtained feedback on the challenges faced by the industry.

He told stakeholders that the government recognised the importance of tourism to the country and appreciated the contributions of those involved in the sector.

"Tourism plays a crucial and significant socio-economic role in our country," he told the stakeholders.

"Aside from contributing to an area's economic growth, the tourism sector has spillover effects throughout the entire supply chain by creating jobs and investment opportunities, encouraging infrastructure development and bringing Malaysian culture to the world."

Zahid said Motac had drawn up strategies to boost the sector's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and ensure its sustainability, competitiveness and resilience. 

These, he said, included measures related to the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, Malaysia's chairmanship of Asean next year, VM2026, and other promotional and marketing activities.

Zahid hoped the measures would positively impact the industry in the long term.

"This year, Motac is targeting 27.3 million tourist arrivals and revenues of RM102.7 billion.

"Alhamdulillah, based on Motac's records and data, the sector's performance up to May 2024 is encouraging.

"A total of 9.48 million tourists have visited Malaysia in the first five months of 2024 compared with 7.48 million visitors recorded in the same period last year," he said.

Key contributing markets included Singapore, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Brunei, India, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Philippines.

"We expect and hope this figure will continue to rise in the third and fourth quarters of this year," said Zahid.

Moving forward, he said he welcomed ideas and feedback so that the government, especially Motac, could better plan and develop initiatives to ensure that the country met its tourism objectives.

"I believe the honourable minister and Motac officials have given their best in ensuring the tourism sector builds on its recovery momentum and remains on the right track."

"I hope all ministries and industry players will work together and give their full commitment to ensure the success of VM2026, which is a national agenda.

"I am confident that with everyone's commitment, Malaysia can become a world-class destination."

Motac is expecting 35.6 million tourist arrivals in conjunction with VM2026, generating an estimated revenue of RM147.1 billion.

To meet these targets, Motac is empowering the highly successful "Malaysia Truly Asia" and "Cuti-cuti Malaysia" brands, in line with the objectives and strategies of the National Tourism Policy 2020-2030, as well as the Tourism Malaysia Marketing Plan 2022-2026.

Motac has also developed the VM2026 roadmap, focusing on three core strategies, namely creating demand, increasing traffic and prioritising target markets.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/07/1079389/govt-recognises-importance-tourism