LETTERS: EVERY June, the Department of Statistics Malaysia releases the findings of the Domestic Tourism Survey and in September, the Tourism Satellite Account.
Reports produced by Tourism Malaysia are focused on inbound tourism and are based on surveys and analyses.
Unfortunately, not many players in the tourism industry are aware of such valuable reports, and even fewer could interpret them well enough to make full use of them to develop their careers and grow their organisations. Sadly, most of them could not describe tourism terms well in their own words.
Academic answers, official definitions and online information are too general to be useful for travel trade personnel. For example, they should not treat the word "tourism" casually but interpret it meaningfully. They must see tourism as a multifaceted business.
Without incurring expenditure, it is not tourism but recreational activities, such as the public going by themselves to the beach or jungle to enjoy mountain streams or waterfalls. But often, state governments and local authorities cannot differentiate between tourism and recreation.
In the name of tourism, a new road could be built for the public to access a newly discovered waterfall. On weekends, hawkers will enjoy roaring sales while wrappings and leftover foods will be strewn all over the place, turning the vicinity into a huge garbage dump in no time.
Where feasible, a restaurant with or without chalets could be built with minimal harm to the environment. The operator should be tasked with keeping the vicinity clean or lose the concession. By generating income from accommodation, food and beverages, it becomes a tourism project.
Therefore, state governments and local authorities must be more specific when making announcements on tourism projects or promotions. Are they suitable for foreign or domestic visitors? Will they be mostly passing excursionists or tourists who also stay overnight?
In June last year, Perlis Tourism Committee chairman Wan Badariah Wan Saad reportedly said the state government was targeting 3.5 million in tourist arrivals in conjunction with Visit Perlis Year 2024-2025. In 2022, Perlis received 2.3 million tourists.
It is difficult to ascertain what these numbers mean, as tourist arrivals would mean foreigners entering Perlis by road or rail and staying overnight in Perlis. Those only passing through are excursionists, and those staying overnight in other states are deemed tourists there. In any case, Perlis should focus on domestic visitors. Aside from those taking the ferry from Kuala Perlis to Langkawi, it could draw excursionists from Kedah, Penang and Perak to sample its unique food, enjoy local fruits such as harumanis mangoes, and buy local products.
Lest we forget, the three biggest tourism expenditures for foreign and domestic visitors are shopping, accommodation, food and beverages. Together, they account for 75 per cent of all expenditures and are the best representation of tourism.
Promotions alone would not attract many visitors to destinations where accessibility, shopping, accommodation, food and beverages are found lacking.
To succeed, one must have a razor-sharp focus on how to attract foreign and domestic tourists and excursionists, as all visitors can contribute immensely to tourism expenditures.
Visitors would be better served if they got to know specifically where they could find the best experiences for shopping, accommodation, dining and entertainment.
Y.S. CHAN
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times