KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) is planning to launch Muslim-friendly tourism packages early next month to draw more Muslim travellers, especially from the Middle East and China to visit the country.
Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said the ministry and the Islamic Tourism Centre of Malaysia (ITC) will implement immediate measures through the marketing efforts by Tourism Malaysia in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
“MOTAC also requests relevant parties to conduct courses and training within this month with the involvement of at least 200 participants to obtain relevant certificates,” he said in a statement tonight.
He said the training aims to provide exposure to industry players regarding the Muslim tourism market and the suitable and competitive packages that can be offered, adding that MOTAC welcomes cooperation in the effort to develop creative and attractive luxury packages such as golf and medical tourism.
Earlier, Tiong met with various groups including Malaysia Inbound Chinese (MICA), the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) and the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA).
Various issues related to the country’s tourism industry were discussed, including ways to enhance international promotion, efforts to develop a Muslim-friendly market, establish consensus among industry players, and provision of subsidies and assistance to tourism entrepreneurs.
