Introduction to Malaysian Tourism
Tourism, including Malaysian tourism, is a big industry worldwide and many countries have already cashed in on its potential.
This article seeks to assess the performance of tourism in Malaysia, its development, impacts and future. Implications for students will also be discussed.
Tourism success in any country begins from the priority placed on it by the government.
The Malaysian government through its Ministry of Tourism Malaysia (hereafter referred to as Tourism Malaysia) plans develops and oversees tourism policies, projects and other activities to realize its vision of making Malaysia an international tourism destination.
The activities of this agency are discussed in more details.
Overview of Malaysian Tourism
International tourist arrivals and international tourism receipts are the popular indicators used in measuringtourism performance.
According to the 2010 United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Report, Malaysia ranked 9th in international tourist arrivals, welcoming 24.6 million visitors through its doors.
This good performance represents a 3.9% increase over 2009 performance. Malaysia achieved a third place in the Asian region after China and Turkey respectively in the world’s top ten country lists of international tourist arrivals.
This performance was realized by the governments’ tourism training, incentives and promotional programs. Government incentives include tourism infrastructure fund and special tourism fund to support tourism-related development and projects.
Promotional programs include the popular ‘Malaysia my second home’, student tourism programs for secondary schools and education tourism among others.
Provision of tourism services according to MS ISO 9001:2000 by the Ministry is an indication of the ministry’s international quality benchmark.
The impact of these efforts resulted in international tourism receipt
References: Ministry of Tourism Malaysia (2011), Ministry programmes, Department of Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Center (2011), World heritage list, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Center. United Nations World Tourism Organization n.d., Tourism highlights, United Nations World Tourism Organization, 2011 edition. About Malaysia To know Malaysia is to love Malaysia - a bubbling, bustling melting-pot of races and religions where Malays, Indians, Chinese and many other ethnic groups live together in peace and harmony. Our multiculturalism has made Malaysia a gastronomical paradise and home to hundreds of colourful festivals. It 's no wonder that we love celebrating and socialising. As a people, Malaysians are very relaxed, warm and friendly. Geographically, Malaysia is almost as diverse as its culture. 11 states and 2 federal territories (Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya) form Peninsular Malaysia which is separated by the South China Sea from East Malaysia which includes the 2 states (Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo) and a third federal territory, the island of Labuan. One of Malaysia 's key attractions is its extreme contrasts which further add to this theme of ‘diversity’. Towering skyscrapers look down upon wooden houses built on stilts while five-star hotels sit just metres away from ancient reefs. Rugged mountains reach dramatically for the sky while their rainforest-clad slopes sweep down to floodplains teeming with forest life. Cool highland hideaways roll down to warm, sandy beaches and rich, humid mangroves. For the perfect holiday full of surprises, the time is now, the place is Malaysia.