The World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL) has acknowledged the Prime Minister’s latest announcement on the National Tourism Policy (DPN) 2020 – 2030 which aims to ensure the survival of the country’s tourism industry as well as return to tourism and cultural destinations around the world.
Under the tourism sector, the Business Events Industry is responsible for organising programs in meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).
The industry has recorded a loss of RM2.25bil from the cancellation and postponement of around 1,550 business events due to interstate and international travel restrictions.
The industry hired about 33,000 permanent workers in addition to 60,000 part-time workers before the Covid-19 pandemic shook the world. More than 17% of industrial workers have lost their jobs, and the sector needs support and assistance from the government.
“I think the implementation of this policy through the six strategic thrusts is a thoughtful and relevant proposal with the current situation. We need an industrial transformation and evolve accordingly. Hence, the effort to create a more inclusive tourism investment zone and stepping up the tourism digitisation is very appropriate. ” said Irmohizam Ibrahim, Executive Director of World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur.
He added that he is ready to work with the government and other industry players to formulate a more robust and safer strategy and guidelines so that the business event industry can reopen and contribute to stimulating and strengthening Malaysia’s economy in the tourism sector.
“I hope with the implementation of this policy, we can strengthen the network between industries and pave the way for new innovative sub-sectors in the tourism industry which in turn create more business and employment opportunities. With the increase in cooperation between the public and private sectors, we can attract more investors from within and outside the country and achieve our goal to make Malaysia one of the Top of Mind Ecotourism Destination of the World,” he said again.
In 2019, Malaysia received around 930,000 business travellers and contributed RM1.2 trillion to the national economy for the record. Malaysia held a total of 1,025 business events in 2019, which contributed RM3.9 billion in direct spending into the country and resulted in an economic impact of RM9.2 billion.
