MELAKA: The next two years are crucial for Malaysia as the country prepares for Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VMY2026), said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
He said the cultural tourism industry in Malaysia continues to grow from strength to strength as Malaysia expects to welcome some 36.5 million tourists and generate RM147.1 billion in receipts for VMY2026.
"In the context of Asean cultural tourism, VMY2026 brings with it the opportunity to cross-sell and re-market the region to tourists visiting Malaysia.
"There are ample opportunities for industry stakeholders across the region to work together and benefit as a whole," he said during the opening ceremony of the 11th Meeting of Asean Ministers Responsible for Culture and Arts (11th AMCA) and 20th Senior Officials Meeting on Culture and Arts (20th SOMCA) and Related Meetings with Dialogue Partners here.
Also present were Asean secretary-general Dr Kao Kim Hourn, Melaka Tourism, Heritage, Arts and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Razak Abdul Rahman and delegates from participating countries.
Tiong said youth engagement, creative economy and digitalisation will be the main focus under Malaysia's AMCA chairmanship for the next two years.
He said, in the run-up to this AMCA meeting, Malaysia has already initiated a number of cultural projects this year, namely Sustainability in the Creative and Cultural Industries Programme: Asean & Beyond; Asean Heritage Train, a collaboration with Lao PDR and Thailand; and, the Conference on the Proposed Asean-China Heritage: Dimensions of National Arts which was held a few weeks ago in Perlis.
"As a side event, Malaysia is collaborating with the Malaysian Youth Council to organise the Asean Youth and Heritage Forum themed 'Celebrating Roots and Reimagining the Future'.
"Represented by all Asean member states and Timor-Leste, this programme is running concurrently with our meeting today," he said.
Other than that, Malaysia also organised AMCA+3 Meeting with China, Japan and Korea in conjunction with the 11th AMCA and 20th SOMCA meeting.
"We appreciate the friendly relations and mutually beneficial dialogue cooperation and partnerships in culture and arts established with the three dialogue partner countries.
"Together with AMCA+3, we continue to mainstream and propagate the role of culture and arts towards fostering a culture of peace, tolerance and mutual understanding through flagship initiatives like the Asean Festival of Arts, Asean City of Culture and Best of Asean Performing Arts," said Tiong.
He also urged participating countries to continue working closely together to further strengthen our regional relations and cooperation as well as enhance efforts to preserve, conserve, promote and appreciate Asean's culture, arts and heritage.
"It is evident that the role of culture in international relations has grown over the years, shifting more towards a people-to-people approach.
"As we continue to promote cultural diversity, I think we can all agree that greater connectivity is a means to foster deeper people-to-people ties," he said.