The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture announced a detailed recovery plan in its efforts to reinvigorate the national economy through the tourism sector that had been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri said that the recovery plan will be carried out by its agency, Tourism Malaysia, through the Stimulus Recovery Plan (PRE) with the support and active engagement with various agencies and industry players to revive the national economy through its tourism sector.

Three main cores under the stimulus recovery plan had been outlined as part of the “quick win” strategies are estimated to boost the domestic tourism campaign:

1.Restore Confidence to Travel

2. Revive Domestic Tourism

3. Maximize Resources

The programmes which had been identified to revive the domestic tourism industry focus on strategic collaborations and smart partnerships with airline companies, other tourism-related agencies including services/hospitality, transportation, and private companies as well as collaborations with non-government organisations (NGOs) such as the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), and Malaysia Budget Hotel Association (MyBHA).

The programmes which will be ready for implementation are as follows:

a) Partnerships with MAH and e-market platforms to promote holiday and hotel packages in order to increase hotel occupancy especially those located in city centers that had recorded low occupancies due to the pandemic;

b) Collaboration with MyBHA to assist selected budget hotels (3 stars and below) across the country with emphasis on premises which are registered with MOTAC through ‘Jom Nginap’ and ‘Malaysia Welcomes You’ campaigns;

c) ‘Cuti-Cuti Malaysia’ campaign with the cooperation of airline companies such as Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), Firefly, Air Asia, and Malindo Air to increase connectivity to holiday destinations in the country to encourage domestic tourism;

d)Tourism Malaysia will collaborate with industry players in the service and transportation segments, and as well as with the private sector such as Prasarana to induce demand for inter and intra travels amongst domestic tourists and increase the use of public transport service; and

e) Collaboration with Karyaneka to offer discounts on craft products to boost sales and drive up demand for Malaysian crafts.

The suggested mechanism for the programme is by offering vouchers/discounts/cash rebates that will bring direct impact to the domestic consumers. This is one of the government’s initiatives to promote the use of digital technology through online orders and purchases, the use of mobile applications, and the redemption of cash e-vouchers.

“MOTAC welcomes the government’s decision to allow domestic travel bubble between green zones in Malaysia. We hope that the rakyat will use the opportunity to travel responsibly and always adhere to the SOPs and the new norms while traveling,” said YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri. The minister calls upon the tourism industry players to continue their efforts to introduce attractive packages periodically to maintain public interest, as well as to abide by the SOPs that have been outlined by the health authorities to inculcate the new norms to ensure the sustainability of the tourism economy which is one of the biggest economic contributors of the country.

The Minister hopes that the programs and initiatives that have been planned will help revive the domestic tourism sector with effective collaboration between all relevant parties towards the recovery of the national economy.