KUALA LUMPUR: The allocation of RM200 million in the 2023 Budget to strengthen the recovery of the tourism sector with incentives, promotion, and marketing initiatives needs to be used creatively by industry players to attract more foreign tourists to Malaysia and encourage repeat visits.
In this regard, senior lecturer at the Department of Recreation and Ecotourism, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Assoc Prof Dr Siti Suriawati Isa suggested that the agency responsible for carrying out tourism promotion and marketing activities in Malaysia should engage various parties to design robust promotion and marketing activities.
"This engagement should not only involve one or two agencies but needs to be more comprehensive, involving many parties from various backgrounds, especially academics and non-governmental organisations.
"In addition, tourism promotion and marketing efforts also need to be more focused on countries that are not the largest source of tourists travelling to Malaysia, such as the United States and Canada. This way, we can increase the number of foreign tourists apart from other major contributors such as Indonesia and Japan," she told Bernama.
Siti Suriawati also praised the incentives provided by the government in the form of discounts, vouchers and rebates for accommodation, tourism packages, handicrafts and works of art up to RM100 to encourage domestic tourism.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, when tabling the 2023 Budget in the Dewan Rakyat on Friday, announced an allocation of RM1.16 billion for the management and development of the tourism, arts and culture sector, including RM200 million for the recovery efforts and RM90 million for the Geran Padanan Galakan Melancong (GAMELAN) programme, which involves promotion and marketing campaigns with the industry.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said the provision of incentives, funds and grants would help to revive the tourism industry, particularly domestic tourism, thereby improving the country's economy gradually.
He said the 100 per cent tax exemption on statutory income for tour operators who guide at least 200 foreign tourists a year or at least 400 local tourists could encourage more tourism companies to focus on the domestic tourism sector.
"Through the tax exemption offered to tour operators, we see that it gives them a lot of advantages. Not only can they attract tourists, but at the same time, they can enjoy the tax exemption based on set conditions," he told reporters after the opening ceremony of MATTA Fair Melaka on Saturday.
On the incentive of up to RM100 in the form of discounts, vouchers and rebates to encourage domestic tourism, Tan said it could reduce travel expenses, especially for those with large families or travel in large groups.
Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) president Uzaidi Udanis said the government's initiative to propose a special tax deduction for hotels that buy local handicraft products could benefit local handicraft entrepreneurs indirectly.
"The time has come for our hospitality industry to highlight local handicraft products, especially in terms of the interior decoration of hotels. For example, we have many products based on batik fabric, which can be used as tablecloths, wall decorations and so on.
"It would be more interesting if hotels could create a special kiosk selling local handicraft products. This is also one of the ways to help promote the products of the locals. Therefore, hotels need to seize the special tax deduction offered by the government," he said.--BERNAMA