ITC CLINCHES STRATEGIC BUSINESS ALLIANCE AWARD IN WORLD HALAL BEST BRANDS E-BRANDING AWARDS 2021

Representatives from the Islamic Tourism Centre and The BrandLaureate Awards at The BrandLaureate World Halal Best Brand E-Branding Awards 2021 (The BrandLaureate Awards)

PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA, 3 MAY 2021 – The BrandLaureate World Halal Best Brands E-Branding Awards 2021 is an event to remember in the 12-year and running history of the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC). ITC was selected as the recipient of the Strategic Business Alliance Award, in what was its maiden BrandLaureate scoop.

In receiving the award, Director-General of ITC, Dato’ Dr. Mohmed Razip Haji Hasan said: “I am pleased to accept this award for Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC). It is an acknowledgement of ITC’s dedication, and also the support from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) and fellow industry players in positioning Malaysia as the choice destination for Islamic tourism and Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality hub of global standards and recognition.”

Synonymous with ITC’s goal for 2021, that is ”new thinking, new actions, new results”, it will witness ITC strengthening its efforts through local, regional, and international collaborations, whilst engaging deeply with stakeholders and partners, and exploring technology and digital solutions, to deliver its products and services.

Dato’ Dr. Razip further opined that ITC will continue in its endeavours to work with tourism industry players in areas of training, research, standards and recognition where Islamic tourism is concerned. This will be done by creating and spreading awareness on the vast potential that this segment of tourism has to offer, besides establishing benchmarks for Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality guidelines and providing advice and consultation in developing Muslim-friendly tourism packages and services.

“Our target audience covers a wide range of those involved in tourism, namely, hoteliers, tourist guides, TOBTABs, airline companies and even training institutes. E-branding is undoubtedly a vital tool for ITC in order to remain in the Islamic tourism market that is proliferating exponentially, and will continue to do so in the years to come.”

He further opined that the pandemic that is COVID-19 came with a silver lining for mankind. It has opened up countless opportunities for us all to be more engaged with our partners and clients via digital technology. In fact, ITC has been conducting all of its training and knowledge-sharing sessions online via webinars, besides having been invited to be panelists or keynote speakers in similar avenues, on Islamic tourism and Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality too.

“By embracing the wave of digitalisation, ITC seeks to be in line with the aspirations of the National Tourism Policy (NTP) 2020-2030 which places emphasis on six thrusts, one of them being digitalisation, in order for the Malaysian tourism industry to remain competitive, sustainable and resilient.”

“I thank Allah SWT for this achievement, and express my utmost appreciation to Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, the Honourable Minister of MOTAC; Dato’ Dr. Noor Zari Hamat, the Secretary-General of MOTAC cum Chairman of ITC; the staff and board of trustees at ITC, not forgetting my predecessors for bringing ITC to where it is now. The achievements we see today are the results of the combined efforts of everyone,” he concluded.

With a clear mindset, focus and direction, namely, the potential Muslim travel market, ITC wants to ensure the tourism sector is fully prepared once international gates are reopened. In order to realise the said goal, it will continue to foster partnerships and collaboration opportunities with strategic partners whilst leveraging on each other’s strengths and resources.

Background on BrandLaureate Awards

The BrandLaureate Awards is a subsidiary of The World Brands Foundation (TWBF). Founded in 2005, TWBF is the world’s only branding foundation dedicated to developing brands in various industries.

TWBF functions actively in identifying and nurturing outstanding brands on an international platform. It strives to champion its mission, to educate and communicate the “value of branding” with the concept that brand culture, combined with good practices will give brands the edge in this competitive environment. 

Since 2018, TWBF has created another awards platform to honour the Halal industry and its ecosystem, branding it the World Halal Best Brands Awards. 2021 marks the third edition of the awards, and its maiden run digitally with the theme “Digitalise to Globalise Your Brand. Past recipients of awards in this segment include Public Mutual, Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), Korea Muslim Federation, Teh Tarik Place, and Swisslab Biotech, among others. 

The category of award for which ITC was named recipient, Strategic Business Alliance Award, seeks to recognise brands that are standing strong, sustaining brand success and brand leadership by adopting new strategies to meet the new normal of the business environment, thus honouring entities who have brought business continuity and sustainability despite difficult situations.

For more information on the award, check out here: https://www.thebrandlaureate.com/world-halal-bestbrands-2021/

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Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) is an entity under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia tasked to develop the Islamic tourism (IT) segment for Malaysia. It advocates for Muslim-friendly tourism (MFT) by offering research and market intelligence, training, industry development consultation, Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality (MFTH) services standards and certification, and information exchange.

In 2021, ITC was named the recipient of the Strategic Business Alliance Award at The BrandLaureate World Halal Best Brand E-Branding Awards 2021. It is a recognition of ITC’s efforts and endeavours in formulating new strategies to meet the new normal of the business environment to ensure business continuity and sustainability, notwithstanding its role to develop and grow the IT segment in Malaysia.

In addition, Malaysia was named top country in the region in the MFT sector by the State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) Report 2020/21. 

Both recognitions are added motivation for ITC to continue to strengthen its efforts in being a prime mover and leading institution to ensure Malaysia is at the forefront of MFTH.

For further details, kindly contact:

Islamic Tourism Centre,
Level 13, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia
No. 2 Tower 1, Jalan P5/6,
Precinct 5, 62200 Putrajaya, Malaysia

Tel: 03-8891 7177 or via email itc@mymuslimtrip.com/v2