1MALAYSIA: TOURISM PROGRAMMES BENEFITS MALAYSIANS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- In line with the 1Malaysia concept,
priority should be given towards community-based tourism so that every Malaysian
can enjoy the fruits of development through it, said Tourism Minister
Dr Ng Yen Yen.

She said tourism programmes ought not only benefit industry players but also
the poor, marginalised and the disadvantaged.

"By working together, we can deliver better outcomes for the people and
develop into a more resilient and competitive tourism industry to overcome this
turbulent period," said Dr Ng in a keynote address titled "Towards a sustainable
and thriving tourism" at the National Tourism Seminar 2009 here Tuesday.

Her speech was read by the ministry's Secretary-General Dr Ong Hong
Peng.

Dr Ng said the ministry was now empowering the rural folks through various
programmes such as homestay thereby enabling them not only to let out their
rooms but more importantly to offer an authentic unique experience to tourists.

"It allows villagers to augment their income without much capital
investment," she said.


Dr Ng said despite the global tourism slump in mid-2008 due high fuel prices
and now with influenza A(H1N1) pandemic, the overall impact on Malaysia had been
minimal because the government in collaboration with the private sector tackled
the crisis head on.

"Although the world tourist arrivals and receipts started to experience a
downturn in late 2008, tourist arrivals in Malaysia increased by 5.1 percent to
22.05 million last year, compared to the 20.9 million in 2007.

"The first quarter of 2009 showed a positive growth of 2.2 percent in
tourist arrivals compared to corresponding period in 2008.

In April, we recorded an increase of seven percent in tourist arrivals," she
said and added, the influenza A(H1N1) pandemic had an impact on tourists
arrivals in Malaysia whereby a marginal negative growth of 0.3 percent in May
was recorded.

However, in June tourist arrivals recorded an impressive growth of 7.5
percent despite an increase in confirmed H1N1 cases, she said.

Thus for the first seven months of this year, Malaysia recorded a growth
with a total of 13.35 million tourist arrivals compared to 12.89 million for the
same period in 2008.

Dr Ng said in the the moves to ensure that the tourism products meet certain
standards, the minister is conducting an audit of tourism products to the
Innovation Centre of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

"The results of the auditing are presented to the stakeholders with a view
to improve the tourism products," she said.

-- BERNAMA