Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry is dedicated to driving the growth of the tourism industry by implementing various strategic initiatives.
Its deputy minister, Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, has prioritised the strengthening of Malaysia’s tourism and cultural sector, ensuring its competitiveness and sustainability, for the country’s socio-economic development.
“My priorities are to strengthen our tourism and cultural products and programmes so that they appeal to the masses. I want to increase the synergy and cooperation between tourism and culture industry players to make Malaysia the destination of choice, and to also develop knowledgeable, skilled, creative, and innovative human capital in the tourism and cultural sector,” said Khairul Firdaus.
“I also want tourism to be more accessible to all. I want Malaysians and foreigners to experience all the beauty that Malaysia has to offer.”
Recognising the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the industry, he highlighted some key strategies to revive tourism in Malaysia.
These include staying abreast of the latest in tourism trends, innovating and improving tourism products and offerings, intensifying collaborations, exploring new market potentials, and enhancing communication by utilising various media platforms.
Islamic tourism as a catalyst
Khairul Firdaus highlighted the potential of Islamic tourism in driving the tourism industry’s recovery, citing the significant global and regional Muslim tourist base with high spending patterns.
He emphasised the demand for tourism experiences, products and services that align with the faith of Muslim travellers.
“Tourism industry players may do well to cater to their needs, and going one step further, brand themselves using the Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality (MFTH) positioning, whether they are a hotel or product operator. Communications, publicity, and promotions are crucial in reaching out to this market.
“In addition, the research company CrescentRating has identified Gen Z, millennials, and women as the most influential and growing demographic within the Muslim population – this is another opportunity for Islamic tourism to grow.”
Khairul Firdaus said despite the increasing competition, industry players in Malaysia had an advantage as the country had plenty to offer Muslim tourists with its unique culture and heritage, beautiful mosques, museums, delicious halal food, many family-friendly activities, stunning geography, and wildlife and nature, including its caves, mountains, rainforests and rivers.
“These are all products that can be packaged for the Muslim market,” he added.
Khairul Firdaus emphasised that Malaysia’s status as the top Muslim-friendly destination in the Global Muslim Travel Index since 2015, and its ranking as the best-positioned country to leverage the expanding Islamic economy, place it in the perfect position to offer more excellent value to Muslim tourists and consumers.
“Through our agency, Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC), we are making industry players aware of these opportunities. We encourage them to plan for this strategically as they move forward with their post-pandemic recovery. ITC offers training courses, research, standards, guidelines, and certification in this area.”
Malaysia Madani and Islamic tourism
The introduction of Malaysia Madani marks a significant milestone in the country’s vision, as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim seeks to establish a civilised, advanced, skilled, and inclusive society.
The six core values of Madani, namely sustainability, prosperity, innovation, respect, trust, and compassion, play a pivotal role in advancing Malaysia’s initiatives and development in various sectors, including Islamic tourism.
According to Khairul Firdaus, Islamic Tourism and the concept of Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality perfectly embody the concept of Malaysia Madani.
ITC’s growth and operations are guided by the ITC’s Strategic Development Plan (2021-2025). It emphasises ITC’s basic guiding principles that embrace Islamic principles and teachings, international best practices, sustainability, innovation and creativity, integrity and transparency, and trustworthiness – values that embody the Madani concept.
“These values are, in turn, reflected in ITC’s business conduct, product offerings and general operations, such as its training courses and certification programmes which address sustainability; care for the family, society and environment; benchmarking against standards; standards review; site inspections/product audits; innovation; governance and integrity, among others.”
In terms of prosperity and the sharing of wealth, Khairul Firdaus cited the Islamic Tourism Entrepreneurs and Leadership Seminar (ITELS) as an example of ITC’s efforts to share the opportunities in Islamic tourism and inspire entrepreneurs and small business owners to venture into this industry.
Through this training, ITC provides them with information on financial schemes available, mentorship programmes, successful leadership qualities, basics of Islamic tourism, and much more.
“ITC also develops Muslim-friendly guidelines to be adopted by industry players. Among the criteria for Muslim-Friendly certification by ITC include sustainability efforts and staff welfare,” he added. – Rest&Rehlah (@Halal)
