KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia’s achievements in tourism have caught the attention of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai credited Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen for the success as Malaysia had emerged the ninth most travelled destination in the world. “I would really like to salute Dr Ng as she and her team have shown remarkable results in promoting Malaysia,” he said at a press conference ahead of the two-day World Tourism Conference to be held here from today.
Rifai said Malaysia achieved tourism arrival growth of 7% to be among the top 10 tourism destinations in 2009 when the rest of the world recorded a contraction of 4.2%. He said Malaysia and China were the only two countries from Asia that were among the top 20 destinations which comprised mostly European countries and North America. Rifai said he had met Dr Ng on several occasions including at the UNWTO general assembly and he found her to be dedicated towards the promotion of the country as a leading tourist destination in the world.
Malaysia’s attendance at the tourism meeting of the G-20 Club in Seoul later this year would cement its position in the international tourism arena, he said. Rifai said environmental issues would have an important impact on future ratings and rankings of countries as tourists often preferred “environment-friendly” destinations.
-thestar online.
Malaysia's Tourism success are credited to all tourism industry players and workers in public and private sectors.
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