Boosting tourism through creative ways (in malaysia :)
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2011/10/11
*Boosting tourism through creative ways*
*PUTRAJAYA:* The Tourism Ministry will employ more creative and innovative ways to boost the country’s tourism industry in the absence of additional funding for the ministry in the 2012 Budget, Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said.
What was more important would be to assist the people who are facing the high cost of living, she said, adding that the ministry understood the situation.
“We will have to strategise and relook our markets, for example our source market, which has moved from America and Europe, to China, India, the Middle East, Russia and Asian countries, including Vietnam.
“We will do it under the Malaysian Tourism Transformation Plan,” she told reporters after opening the Cuti-Cuti 1Malaysia travelogue, here yesterday.
Dr Ng said the ministry would also relook the arts and fashion sectors, in its bid to win tourist dollars.
“On average, Russian tourists spend about RM9,000 per person per trip, Asian tourists RM2,000, people from China RM2,700 and people from the Middle East RM7,000. So we have to now relook our strategy, strengthen the high-yield sector so that the yield will go up although the number of tourists may not increase by as much.”
Dr Ng said she was happy and welcomed the RM420 million allocation for the Langkawi Five-Year Tourism Development Master Plan, especially the move to restructure the Langkawi Development Authority and the establishment of a forest ranger team, which was an important process towards improving the tourism value of the place.
She said the RM900 million allocated for five corridor development projects, including the north, where the Taiping Heritage Development project would be carried out, was a new project for the ministry.
Regarding a 13-episode travelogue in Mandarin, Ng said the ministry had collaborated with 8TV to promote domestic tourism, which she said was also an important part of the national tourism industry. She said last year, the country had recorded 115 million domestic tourists who spent RM34.7 billion. The programme, hosted by Henley Hii and Natalie Ng, will air on 8TV from Oct 16 at 7.30pm. — Bernama
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