The Malaysia Productivity Corp (MPC) has officially launched Malaysia Virtual Experience (MyVXp), which aims to receive around 150,000 visitors or “virtual tourists” by January next year.

Carried out through the Tourism Productivity Nexus (TPN) initiative, it is an effort to boost productivity growth of the tourism industry amid the new normal and is targeting up to 1,000 prototypes of live online experiences this year.

To date, MyVXp has 150 products available, ranging between RM15 and RM50 for a 60-to 90-minute virtual experience.

MPC deputy DG Zahid Ismail said the initiative is still in its developing phase and will be refined along the way, adding that it is a good way to promote Malaysia and support local products.

“Before you travel to a destination, you can learn about it first with this virtual experience and if you are satisfied with what you see, you can physically go to the place once the pandemic is controlled,” he said.

TPN’s effort in producing live online tourism products is in line with MPC’s aspiration in maximising technology and digitalisation in boosting productivity growth.

Zahid said technology and digitalisation remain a constant element for productivity and must be fully utilised, especially in the face of uncertainty due to Covid-19. He said the next stage is to engage with the Chinese and Indonesian markets.

“We hope that more domestic and international users subscribe to this initiative so that we can have a complete digital ecosystem.

“We started in May and within seven months, we are able to produce more than 100 virtual experiences. With Covid-19, this could be an opportunity for us to convert all our assets to digital,” he added.

Since its inception, MyVXp has now successfully trained over 450 hosts through online mentoring sessions conducted by 14 experts who have experience in product innovation, digital marketing and promotion, and technology adoption.

TPN champion Uzaidi Udanis said since the surge of Covid-19 cases lately, he believed the industry needs to remain positive and take up the challenge.

“As one of the industry players, I have personally felt the negative impact of the pandemic on the tourism industry, where some have temporarily closed their businesses and are in a dire situation due to the lack of cashflow.

“This is a collaboration between the government and the private sector to ensure the livelihood of the tourism industry and to assist industry players to generate income by leveraging technology,” he said.

MyVXp unlimited digital travel can be experienced by visiting https://kofkini.com/ and https://exploremalaysiavirtually.com/, while individuals who are interested in joining as online hosts can refer to TPN’s Facebook page.