Boost tourism sector with integrated data ecosystem
LETTERS: Tourism remains an important part of Malaysia’s efforts to generate economic activity as we work towards achieving 47 million international tourist arrivals under the extended Visit Malaysia campaign.
Malaysia aims to boost its tourism sector by establishing an integrated data ecosystem that covers visitor behavior, spending, accommodation, transport, destination flows and seasonal demand. While international visitor arrivals increased to 21.1 million between January and June this year, compared to 20.6 million in the same period last year, a more interconnected system is needed to fully understand market trends and visitor preferences.
The government's goal is to identify high-spending markets, destinations with rising demand and opportunities for off-peak travel. Additionally, Malaysia seeks to develop higher-value tourism experiences, such as medical and wellness tourism, gastronomy, ecotourism, education, business events, heritage and Muslim-friendly tourism.
To achieve this, the country must better connect visitors with secondary destinations, heritage areas, Geoparks and rural communities. Improved infrastructure will also be necessary to manage visitor demand. The government should also focus on equipping tourism enterprises with digital tools to enhance their reach and participation in tourism spending.
A successful example of this is the EDU+ initiative, which attracted 10,000 international students and generated RM50 million in tourism receipts. Ultimately, a larger tourism allocation in the 2027 Budget should be focused on investments that can generate greater economic value from this sector.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
