KUALA LUMPUR: Several locations in the country will be listed as new ecotourism attractions and tourism investment zones, in an ongoing effort to revitalise the economy.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the locations housed attractions ranging from natural beauty derived from respective ecosystem and biodiversity to local products.
She expressed hope for Malaysia to be a leader in global ecotourism following the introductions of new destinations that could draw more tourists into the country and subsequently stimulate investments in the industry.
"We have a lot of potentials as there are many (tourism) products that yet to be explored (marketed).
For example, islands can be turned into a tourism investment zone. There are also caves to attract young adventurers who love hiking and exploring."
"Through ecotourism, we can attract not only foreign tourists also locals who have been wary about travelling following the Covid-19 outbreak.
"So now, we are also focusing on domestic tourism," Nancy told reporters after her guest appearance at TV3 Malaysia Hari Ini (MHI) this morning.
Also present were the ministry's secretary-general, Datuk Dr Noor Zari Hamat, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board director-general Zulkifly Md Said and Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation (MHDC) director-general Ibrahim Ismail.
Earlier, Nancy had a meeting with the top management of Media Prima Berhad (MPB) to discuss on the tourism industry.
She was welcomed by MPB group chairman Datuk Dr Syed Hussian Aljunid, group managing director Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood and Media Prima Television Networks chief executive officer Datuk Khairul Anwar Salleh.
Earlier during MHI, Nancy promoted the MYcraftshopee application, a platform for the sales of traditional products and arts by entrepreneurs under MHDC.
She said to date, 6,000 handicraft entrepreneurs had registered on the application, which provides convenience for those looking to purchase local products.
"In the past, buyers need to be present at the store but that is no longer necessary. They can now find all of the information needed on the application.
"We have initially set the targeted sales value of handicraft at RM500 million. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have reduced the total to RM200 million.
"And we had reached RM215.05 million in sales by Nov 30," she said.