MALAYSIA STRENGTHENS POSITION AS THE LEADING MUSLIM-FRIENDLY TOURISM DESTINATION

PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA, 6 NOV 2020: Malaysia continues to be looked upon as the benchmark for Islamic tourism, as two international organisations invited ITC to be the Guest of Honour at their respective webinar sessions as Keynote Speakers.

The first webinar was the Visit Bangladesh: The New Horizons for Malaysia Tourist webinar, jointly organised by VROMON Travel Magazine and Bangladesh Tourism Board on 14 October 2020. The webinar served as a platform for industry players to be aware of the vast potentials and opportunities of the Muslim travel market. The webinar was attended by Bangladeshi Government Officials comprising the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, Bangladesh Tourism Board, Tourist Police and State Governments. The webinar also saw participation from tourism stakeholders in the South Asia region, representatives from the High Commission of Malaysia to Bangladesh, Tourism Malaysia and members of the Bangladeshi media. The Keynote address highlighted Malaysia’s best practices in Islamic tourism development, Islamic tourism initiatives and Islamic tourism in the Industry Revolution 4.0, among others.

ITC was next invited to deliver the keynote address at the Tourism Promotion Organisation for Asia Pacific Cities (TPO) Regional Meeting for Malaysian Member Cities on 21 October 2020. The meeting was aimed at seeking ways on destination management in the post-COVID-19 era and sharing opinions regarding TPO’s activities and new programs and projects in 2020. The webinar was attended by TPO member cities, including Melaka, Ipoh, Kampar, Kuala Kangsar, Taiping and Kota Kinabalu. Other guests included representatives from the TPO Secretariat, Manjung and Batu Gajah Municipals, Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), Iskandar Regional Development Authority (ISKANDAR), Malaysia Healthcare and Travel Council (MHTC), Tourism Melaka, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Malaysian NGOs, Zoo Taiping and members of the South Korean and Malaysian media (@Halal Magazine). The Keynote address highlighted the lucrative Muslim traveller market, Malaysia’s programmes for Islamic tourism and incorporating the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with Islamic Tourism to combat COVID-19 and to prepare the industry once the pandemic has eased.

Earlier this year during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) period, ITC was invited to speak at several other webinars on tourism post-Covid-19 in the context of Islamic tourism. These include:

(i) Pengembangan Pariwisata Ramah Muslim Pasca-Covid-19
4 August 2020
Organised by: Majelis Ulama Indonesia

(ii) Online Halal Mini Symposium: Turning the Covid-19 Crisis into Opportunities in the Halal Industry
13 August 2020
Organised by: Universiti Malaya

(iii) Dialog Pembaharuan Ekonomi: Ketahanan Hotel Patuh Syariah dalam Melalui Norma Baru Ekoran Pandemik Covid-19
26 August 2020
Organised by: Majlis Dakwah Negara (MDN)

(iv) Langkawi Tourism and Hospitality International Conference 2020
27 – 28 September 2020
Co-organised by: Universiti Utara Malaysia and Langkawi International Tourism and Hospitality (LITH) Research Centre

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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 segment for Malaysia. It advocates for Muslim-friendly tourism by offering research and market intelligence, training, industry development consultation, Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality services standards and certification, and information exchange.

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