Tourism and Culture Ambassadors share plans to promote Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 (Bernama) -- Three Tourism and Culture Ambassadors of Malaysia have expressed excitement about playing their part to bring in more arrivals to Malaysia.

Tourism Malaysia, in a statement today, said the ambassadors, Datuk Chef Ismail Ahmad for the gastronomy segment, Datuk Lee Jin Bok for the South Korean market and Kabir Khan Mohamad Reaz for the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA) markets were appointed on June 1, 2021, effective for two years.

In their meeting here with Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri on May 17, the ambassadors discussed their upcoming plans to promote Malaysia in the post-pandemic era.

During the meeting, Nancy expressed her gratitude for the ambassadors' promotional efforts despite having to deal with pandemic restrictions and constraints. 

Ismail, in the same statement, said he has been actively promoting Malaysia’s authentic cuisine globally through numerous efforts amid the recent pandemic.

They include a collaboration with Korean YouTube channel, Blimey, as well as personal cooking classes with the Association of Spouses of Heads of Diplomatic Missions Malaysia (SOHOM).

“The idea of working closely with SOHOM came to me three years ago, and I’m truly grateful that we managed to resume the ‘gastrodiplomacy’ programme this year,” said the celebrity chef.

Sharing his plans for the near future, Lee has forecast an increase in international arrivals, particularly South Koreans, in 2023, after the easing of border restrictions, including leisure tourists, business travellers and golfers.

“In the meantime, I will be organising the grand opening of the Korea-Malaysia Economic and Cultural Exchange Association (KMEC) in Malaysia on May, 23,” he said.

Penang-born world-renowned magician and mentalist Kabir Khan, meanwhile, said Malaysia post-pandemic recovery efforts should be taken as a reset for the tourism sector, which gives the nation opportunities to come up with new approaches.

“During my shows across Europe, the United Kingdom and the USA, you can see that the audience were very much interested to know about Malaysia. However, certain markets listen differently, hence the correct strategies need to be in place to promote Malaysia internationally.

“What I plan to do to attract these long-haul tourists is by creating value-for-money packages, where they get to enjoy several destinations for the price of one,” he said.

-- BERNAMA