The Malaysian government officially launched its Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014 tourism promotional campaign on Saturday night, under the target of attracting 28 million foreign tourists next year. “[VMY 2014] is a national mission that must not only be supported by the Tourism Ministry but also by all the other ministries, state agencies and also the [Malaysian] people,” Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told an audience of more than 5,000 Malaysians and 110 foreign reporters and photojournalists from all over the world at the launch event at Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
The campaign will run throughout 2013. “Every Malaysian has a role to make this a successful campaign, be they taxi drivers, customs employees, hotel receptionists, travel agents or even common citizens. Everyone must be able to convince potential tourists that they will have a great time in Malaysia,” the prime minister added. The latest data from the Malaysian Tourism Ministry showed the country received 24.7 million foreign tourists in 2011.
The year-long VMY 2014 campaign would not only promote Malaysia on an international level but also highlight domestic initiatives to ensure Malaysians reap the economic benefits should the campaign be successful. VMY 2014 theme song “Celebrating 1Malaysia Truly Asia” also made its public debut at the event, where it was sung by local rock queen Ella Aminuddin. The launch event itself is part of a three-day tourism fair hosted by the Tourism Ministry at the stadium over the weekend.
Visitors learned more about numerous Malaysian tourism festivals and activities, including the Petronas F1 Malaysia Grand Prix, the Malaysia International Shoe Festival, the 1Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival and the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival. Information on year-round holiday packages and tourism activities, including Malaysian Islamic tours, cycling packages and local culinary travel trails can also be found among the fair’s numerous booths.
Malaysian Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen said the tourism industry is the third largest contributor to Malaysia’s foreign exchange earnings with a total revenue of MYR 58.3 billion (US$19.35 billion) in 2011. Tourism-related industries in Malaysia have employed almost 2 million people in 2011. The tourism industry has been identified as Malaysia key economic area with the potential to generate high revenue for the country. By 2020, the industry is expected to attract 36 million tourists and record MYR 168 billion in revenue.
source : the jakarta post
source : the jakarta post
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