New Straits Times
KUALA LUMPUR: A multifold effort is required to optimise returns on Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) initiative as the country bounces back from the Covid-19 pandemic effect.
Malaysia Budget Hotels Association (MyBHA) president Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel said industry players, as well as the locals, must be engaged more actively to help promote tourism products.
These include drivers, eatery operators, souvenir sellers and those in the hospitality industry such as tour guides and hotel workers.
"The Visit Malaysia Year is aimed at letting Malaysians be the driver in growing the economy.
"We want the locals to make money from it, so they need to be part of the campaign," he said.
He said if the people, who are the faces of the country, are happy, they would welcome tourists better.
Industry players should also be engaged more closely to ensure that VM2026 achieves its intended targets," said Ganesh.
"The government must not only talk about promotions at the international level, while not much is said about policies back home.
"For instance, we could see illegal accommodations flourishing, as many tourists do not stay at hotels."
This, he said, could greatly affect the sector as illegal operators did not adhere to the standards and regulations, while cutting down on expenses such as taxes and business licences.
For promotions, he suggested that foreign influencers were 'roped in' to visit tourist attractions here to reach a wider audience online.
The conventional way of opening booths at tourism exhibitions, costs a fortune, but with limited reach, he said.
Meanwhile, Consortium Inbound Tourism Alliance (CInTA) chairman Uzaidi Udainis also agreed to the emphasis on engaging the people as part of the efforts to promote Malaysia.
This includes organising awareness programmes and partnerships with the community, he said.
"This is to instil a sense of belonging and allow people to also take care of the tourist spots in their area.
"In Phuket, Thailand, the locals have rosters for beach clean-up as a way to take care of the place that brings a lot of income to the people."
He said the campaign seemed to have lost its "oomph" with stiffer competition from other countries "going all out" promoting tourism products post pandemic.
He said many countries are also offering visa-free, along with other perks, to attract tourists.
"So, we have to think of other strategies as well, especially because the industry players have not fully recovered from the impact of the pandemic," he added.
To ensure the right strategies were employed, he said, data analysis played a vital role in decision making.
He said annual statistics were no longer sufficient if the country wished to step up its promotional efforts.
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