MALAYSIAN TOURISM - ASSESSING ITS PERFORMANCE, IMPACT AND FUTURE

ntroduction to Malaysian Tourism

Tourism, including Malaysian tourism, is a big industry worldwide and many countries have already cashed in on its potential.

This article seeks to assess the performance of tourism in Malaysia, its development, impacts and future. Implications for students will also be discussed.

Tourism success in any country begins from the priority placed on it by the government.

The Malaysian government through its Ministry of Tourism Malaysia (hereafter referred to as Tourism Malaysia) plans develops and oversees tourism policies, projects and other activities to realize its vision of making Malaysia an international tourism destination.

The activities of this agency are discussed in more details.

Overview of Malaysian Tourism

International tourist arrivals and international tourism receipts are the popular indicators used in measuringtourism performance.

According to the 2010 United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Report, Malaysia ranked 9th in international tourist arrivals, welcoming 24.6 million visitors through its doors.

This good performance represents a 3.9% increase over 2009 performance. Malaysia achieved a third place in the Asian region after China and Turkey respectively in the world’s top ten country lists of international tourist arrivals.

This performance was realized by the governments’ tourism training, incentives and promotional programs. Government incentives include tourism infrastructure fund and special tourism fund to support tourism-related development and projects.

Promotional programs include the popular ‘Malaysia my second home’, student tourism programs for secondary schools and education tourism among others.

Provision of tourism services according to MS ISO 9001:2000 by the Ministry is an indication of the ministry’s international quality benchmark.

The impact of these efforts resulted in international tourism receipt of
RM 56.5 billion in 2010. Therefore, in order to complement this achievement, the government is stepping up efforts in its plan to boost the tourism industry.

This was reflected in the 2011 budget where more tourism destinations in various parts of the country will be developed (some are already under construction as of writing), ban of import duties on certain tourism-related products, education promotions and part-funding of tourism related projects with the private sector.

Highlights of Tourim sites in Malaysia

The developmental efforts of the governments’ tourism agency resulting in the recognition of threeattractions as world heritage sites by UNESCO are truly commendable. Theseattractions are:

1. Gunung Mulu National Park (Sarawak)

2. Kinabalu Park (Sabah)

3. Melaka and Georgetown, historic sites of the Straits of Malacca

Potential sites already submitted for inclusion by UNESCO includes:

1. Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary (LEWS) and Ai national Park (BANP)

2. Prehistoric Archeological Heritage of Lenggong Valley

3. The Taman Negara National Park of Peninsular Malaysia

Consequently, increased tourism benefits other sectors such as increasing hotel development, training of tourism related courses in tertiary institutions, manufacturing, transportation and the aviation industry only to mention a few.

Future of Malaysian tourism and implications for students

As Malaysia inches closer to its vision of becoming a developed country by 2020, the race is on to ensure its tourism industry is not left behind.

Continued liberalization of some government controlled sectors, increased incentives, development of more tourism destinations where possible, increased involvement of the private sector are some of the key strides that will continue to improve Malaysia tourism performance into the future.

This has a huge implication for students especially students of Hospitality and Tourism management.

As populations increase in Malaysia and in the world and the Malaysian government makes its tourism industry more attractive, more skilled personnel will be required to manage the increasing government functions and private businesses resulting from it.

One key recommendation for the Malaysian government will be to factor in the projected skilled workforce and skill sets required to realize its future tourism ambitions while making plans for those skills and workforce today.

Students interested in the tourism industry will focus on developing additional skills sets more than a passing grade that will provide the distinction to ensure a place in the ever growing Malaysian tourism industry.

Conclusion

This article investigated Malaysian tourism in terms of its performance, impact, development, future and implications for students.

It was found that Malaysia ranks in the world’s top ten countries in international tourist arrivals, achieved recognition for three UNESCO world heritage sites, and has a coordinated promotion, incentive and program to propel its tourism industry into the future.

The implication for students especially student of the Hospitality and tourism industry werediscussed.

Finally, it was recommended that a holistic tourism plan must include the projected skill set and workforce required to manage the increasing tourism projects of the future.

References

Ministry of Tourism Malaysia (2011), Ministry programmes, Department of Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Center (2011), World heritage list, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Center.

United Nations World Tourism Organization n.d., Tourism highlights, United Nations World Tourism Organization, 2011 edition.

Malaysia, up close and personal

Tourism Malaysia, has announced a '14-days visa on arrival' scheme for Indian nationals. The visas will be issued only if the visit to Malaysia is combined with Thailand or Singapore. They will be available from the Kuala Lumpur international airport as well as the road-entry point from Singapore, the Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar, Tanjung Kupang — Johor Bahru.

The visas, costing Rs 650, are valid only for tourism in Malaysia for travellers with valid and confirmed return air tickets. Tourism Malaysia has also launched a special 'All India Mega Sale' package for Indian shopping enthusiasts. Valid till March 31, '04, the package is available at different prices in different Indian cities. For Delhi, the six nights/ seven days package is priced at Rs 26,999 and includes return airfare, 4-star accommodation on twin-sharing basis with breakfast, transfers and sightseeing in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

The trip includes two nights at Kuala Lumpur, three nights in Penang and one night at Genting. From Mumbai, the package is for six nights at Rs 24,999. From Bangalore, the package is for three nights at Rs 19,999.

Malaysia to face losses of up to RM4 billion in tourism revenue due to MH370, say analysts

Luo Juan, a senior analyst with market research company Forward Information, told SCMP that she predicted Chinese arrivals in Malaysia this year would drop by 20% to 40%.

"This would represent 400,000 to 800,000 tourists," said Luo.

"If each tourist spent an average of 10,000 yuan (RM5,300) during their stay, the total loss could rise to between 4 billion (RM2.1 billion) and 8 billion yuan (RM4.2 billion).

"A recovery might only be seen after a year," she said, adding it remained to be seen what effect the call for a boycott would have on the tourism industry in Malaysia.

The controversy surrounding missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has prompted many Chinese tourists to shun Malaysia.

Although Malaysia is seen as an attractive holiday destination, there has been a lot of anger at the perceived lack of information provided by Putrajaya following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on March 8.

The flight departed from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, carrying 12 crew members and 227 passengers, the majority of who were Chinese nationals.

The flight disappeared off the radar at 1.20am and has yet to be located, despite a mammoth search and rescue operation involving 26 nations.

SCMP said travel agencies in mainland China have reported a sharp drop in the number of Chinese visitors to Malaysia.

Led by celebrities, mainlanders have been calling for a tourism boycott of Malaysia following MH370's disappearance.

"In the past two weeks, the number of clients from northern China going to Malaysia has dropped by 50%," Dun Jidong, a senior marketing manager at Ctrip.com, China's largest travel booking website, told SCMP.

"Compared with the same period last year, the dip has been quite drastic. This includes group and independent travellers," Dun said.

Three other top travel agencies in China have also reported similar decline in Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia.

SCMP reported that China International Travel Service, China Youth Travel Service, and BTG International Travel and Tours have reported decreasing numbers.

A China International travel agent told SCMP that the MH370 saga has not only affected tourism in Malaysia but in Southeast Asia overall.

"The impact has spread to most destinations in the region including Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore."

China Youth Travel Service has also suspended flights 318 and 319, which replaced MH370 and 371.

Marketing director Ge Lei told SCMP that service between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing would be put on hold beginning May 2.

"After MH370, the number of travel inquiries to Malaysia has dropped to almost zero," Ge told SCMP.

China Youth Travel Service has stopped collaborating with Malaysia Airlines on package tours to Kota Kinabalu and promised a full refund to any customers who wanted to cancel.

Chinese tourist arrivals account for about 12% of Malaysia's total tourists and 0.4% of the country's gross domestic product, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note.

Malaysia has targeted 28 million tourists this year and RM76 billion in receipts.

According to Tourism Malaysia, 1.79 million Chinese visited the country last year, a nearly 15% annual increase.

China is the third largest source of visitors to Malaysia, in which tourism is the sixth contributor of its GDP.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz on Monday said Malaysia had suspended its Visit Malaysia Year 2014 campaign.

"The ministry has stopped its promotion tours, especially in China, until MH370 has been found," Nazri had said in Parliament, adding that this was as a mark of respect to the families of the passengers on board the flight. – March 27, 2014.

HOSPITALTY AND TOURISM DEGREE

Hospitality” is a relatively new term. The hospitality industry consists of companies within the food services, accommodations, recreation, and entertainment sectors

The hospitality industry is a several billion dollar industry and is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors in the economy. Hence, the demand for graduates of hospitality programs will continue in the future.

What career tracks are available?
• Owner or franchise holder of food chains
• Manager of restaurants
• Manager in food service companies servicing large organizations like hospital, hotels, army, schools etc
• Owner of Manager in travel industry e.g. tourist agency, airlines, beach resort, cruise ships

Bachelor degree in Hospitality and Tourism

Many programs in Malaysia offer degrees in travel and tourism. Hospitality degrees in Malaysia train students to become managers in either the hotel industry or the food service industry. Undergraduate courses give students a solid grounding in the study of hospitality, tourism or event management.

Typical courses in a hospitality and tourism degree program includes:
• Accommodation
• Event Management
• Food and Beverage
• Human Resources
• Marketing
• Tourism
• Business
• Environmental Studies
• Hospitality
• Social Sciences