BUDGET 2024: RM350 MLN ALLOCATION ENCOURAGES TOURISM ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- The allocation of RM350 million to boost promotion and tourism activities is seen as a big step forward to encourage the development of the tourism ecosystem in the country and propel Malaysia into the international stage.

Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) director-general Nizran Noordin said the Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality (MFTH) sector is an integral driver of the halal economy and Malaysia is in a prime position to benefit from the global Muslim tourist market.

“Budget 2024’s funding allocation to develop Muslim-friendly tourism in Malaysia is a big step forward to encourage the development of the Muslim-friendly ecosystem with travel packages, mosque tourism and other products and activities that cater to the Muslim tourist market.

“A strong MFTH ecosystem is essential to the success of Visit Malaysia 2026. The global Muslim tourist market is expected to increase to 230 million tourists in 2028 with spending estimated to be US$225 billion. This massive and growing force of the Muslim tourist market is expected to create high demand for more Muslim consumer products and services within the tourism industry,” he said.

Nizran added that ITC welcomes the opportunity to play a bigger role in supporting tourism industry players to step up their efforts and ensure Malaysia remains the preferred Muslim-friendly tourism destination.

Besides the allocation, the government’s introduction of new initiatives under the Malaysian Visa Liberalisation Plan is seen as an opportunity to enliven the tourism sector on top of promotional activities and cement Malaysia as the destination of choice for the global public.

When tabling the 2024 Budget on Oct 13, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the initiatives include improving the visa-on-arrival, social visit pass and multiple-entry visa facilities to encourage the entry of tourists and investors, especially from India and China.

Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) (Perak Chapter) president Law Weng Sum said the initiative came right on time to encourage tourists from eastern Asia nations such as China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to visit the country.

In conjunction with Visit Perak Year 2024, he said the visa facilities will also attract more tourists to visit the state.

“I am sure the tourism industry will reap heaps of benefits from these visa facilities. We have and always continued to gain traction with tourists from Chinese nations, so I have no doubt they will be making a visit to the country more often,” he added.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association national president Dr Sri Ganesh Michael hoped that the budget took into account the budget hotel industry which was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and is still in the midst of recovery efforts.

He said a more effective budget should be introduced in solving threats to the industry as well as recovering lost taxes due to threats to the industry, such as the lack of specific laws reform to regulate short-term residential accommodation (STRA) and online travel agencies (OTA).

“The hospitality industry and tourism industry in general are a competitive industry that has been affected.

“If the service tax is raised from six per cent to eight per cent, the threshold value of the service tax for the hospitality industry should be raised as well to ensure that there’s no increase in sales prices of budget hotel rooms,” he opined.

-- BERNAMA