Malaysia Tourism Council tackles labour crunch

 

To minimise the acute manpower shortage in the travel and hospitality industry, Malaysia Tourism Council (MTC) has devised a plan to share with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia, in the hope that the ministry will take it up with the relevant government agencies.

MTC president, Uzaidi Udanis, shared with TTG Asia that the council had a meeting with travel and tourism players two weeks ago and several strategies were devised for short- and mid-term solutions to cover the transport, hospitality, F&B and retail industry.

Short-term solutions included attracting foreign interns to gain industry exposure in Malaysia and encouraging students to pursue tourism and hospitality courses upon completing their secondary education. He pointed out that hospitality and tourism institutions in Malaysia were having difficulties with recruitment.

On the manpower shortage, Zahira Tahir, founder and CEO, Universal Holidays, also shared that the problem was acute in the hospitality industry across all hotels – regardless of star ratings – throughout the country.

Due to the labour crunch, many had not been operating at full capacity, she said. Currently, it is the peak season for tourists from India and Middle East markets, domestic demand is high and many Singaporeans visit on the weekends too.

Universal Holidays had to rearrange itineraries according to room availability. She explained: “When we can’t get rooms in Genting, we do Genting as a day trip. When there are no rooms in Kuala Lumpur, we develop the itinerary with another destination first.”

Zahira also highlighted on the shortage of private vehicles to ferry tourists around as suppliers were short of drivers while some had reduced their inventory.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Association of Hotels had reached out to the Human Resources Ministry to expedite the work permits of foreign workers, but had not received a response, reported The Star recently.

-TTG Asia.

MTC perkenal sijil pematuhan SOP Covid-19, pastikan sektor pelancongan tidak terjejas

 

PETALING JAYA: Majlis Pelancongan Malaysia ( MTC) memperkenal sijil pematuhan prosedur operasi standard (SOP) Covid-19 di semua premis berkaitan dengan sektor terbabit di negara ini.

Presiden MTC, Uzaidi Udanis berkata, sijil tersebut mendapat pengiktirafan pelbagai agensi dalam dan negara luar memastikan premis mematuhi garis panduan yang ditetapkan kerajaan bagi mengekang penularan wabak Covid-19.

Katanya, setakat ini lebih 3,000 pemain industri mendapat sijil perakuan pematuhan berkenaan.

“Sijil ini dikeluarkan secara percuma oleh Perbadanan Produktiviti Malaysia (MPC) dengan hasil kerjasama kita. Ini bermakna siapa ada sijil ini mereka memang patuh SOP. Ia membuktikan kita bersedia untuk bekerjasama dengan pihak kerajaan untuk bersama-sama memastikan penularan dapat dihentikan dalam sektor ini.

“Sebab itu sijil seperti ini diperkenal selain dua inisiarif lain dan berharap lebih banyak yang akan memohon nanti,”katanya dalam sidang akhbar di sini hari ini.

-utusan online.

Langkawi bags six awards at 2021 Malaysia Tourism Council Gold Awards

 

ALOR SETAR: Kedah's tourism jewel, Langkawi bagged six awards at the 2021 Malaysia Tourism Council Gold Awards in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

Among the awards are Special Awards On Travel Bubble Initiatives which was awarded to Langkawi Development Authority (Lada), Best Cable Car in Malaysia – Langkawi Skycab (Panorama Langkawi Sdn. Bhd.); and Best Islamic Compliance Hotel – Adya Hotel Langkawi.

Langsura Geopark Sdn. Bhd. bagged two awards for The Best Malay Cuisine And Heritage Restaurant and The Best Eco Friendly Destination while Nadias Hotel Langkawi won The Best 3 Star Hotel (Sea View) award.

Lada chief executive officer Nasaruddin Abdul Muttalib said the awards affirmed Langkawi's status as a world-class tourism destination.

"We will continue with efforts to revive the island's tourism sector for Langkawi's economic progress.

"Lada is confident these awards will further strengthen Langkawi's branding as a popular destination for both domestic and international travellers," he said in a statement today.

Nasaruddin said Lada was confident that the number of visitor arrivals to Langkawi would further improve next year.

"Until Dec 5, 2021 Langkawi recorded 472,572 inbound visitors, generating revenue worth RM487 million from Sept 16 until Dec 5.

"If we look at the trend of inbound visitors to Langkawi, it has a huge potential to recover after being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic," he added.

-nst online.

MTC taps UNITAR to upskill tourism, hospitality workers

 

Malaysia Tourism Council (MTC) has signed an MoU with UNITAR International University (UNITAR) to upskill and reskill tourism and hospitality workers who have been retrenched during the pandemic to prepare them for new job opportunities once international borders reopen.

“Investment in skills upgrading and training during this downtime is critical, as we seek to enable the industry to emerge stronger and transformed in the new normal,” MTC president Uzaidi Udanis said during the online MoU signing ceremony between MTC and UNITAR.

“The travel industry in the new normal is going to be very different from what it was. Travellers will do their research and buy their travel direct, bypassing the travel agent. To stay relevant, we must change according to the needs of the market. Travel agents have to be abreast with the latest digital technology, including AI and database management.

“With this collaboration between MTC and UNITAR, workers in tourism and hospitality businesses would be able to pick up new skills and capabilities to meet future challenges.”

MTC organising chairman and deputy president, K Thangavelu, said the MoU agreement is important to MTC for three reasons. “It demonstrates our strong support for UNITAR’s efforts to expand and strengthen its tourism faculty, it harnesses our people’s capabilities to create and apply innovative reskilling and upskilling solutions, and it is an important part of our continuing contribution to industry and community development in Malaysia.”

Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar, vice chancellor of UNITAR, shared that the university is working with MTC and its key players to push Malaysia’s economic recovery plan for the tourism industry by offering hospitality-related courses to upskill employees and agency owners under MTC.

UNITAR is the first, and currently, only university to collaborate with MTC to offer a fully online learning environment for hospitality and tourism education. The Hospitality and Tourism Department at UNITAR will offer Diploma in Tourism Management, Diploma in Hotel Management, Bachelor of Hospitality Management, and Masters in Hospitality Management.

-TTG Asia.

Malaysian agents urged to craft new tourism products for domestic crowd

 

Malaysia Tourism Council keen to market Lenggong Valley to domestic travellers 

Malaysia Tourism Council (MTC) is taking the lead to encourage all tourism associations to develop new products and promote off-the-beaten-path destinations in Malaysia, in order to appeal to the domestic crowd.

It recently trained the local community at Lenggong Valley, a UNESCO certified site in Perak, to become product operators and tailor their services for the domestic market, while international borders remain closed.

MTC president, Uzaidi Udanis, shared: “It is important for the local community to benefit from tourism. Lenggong Valley has received UNESCO status since 2012, but not many Malaysians have been there as it is not well-promoted.”

Since the government allowed domestic tours to resume earlier this month – with travel limited to between recovery movement control order (RMCO) states, and via government-registered tour agencies – Uzaidi said MTC’s first project is to organise a technical visit for travel agents to Lenggong Valley early next month.

The purpose of the two-day, one-night visit is to connect travel agents with local operators and community leaders so they can network and explore business opportunities.

Uzaidi said: “In the pre-Covid period, many small operators in Malaysia did not develop their own tour products, but instead relied on selling tours developed by big wholesalers in Malaysia (that were designed) for the foreign inbound market.

“We are encouraging these smaller players to develop their own tourism products for the domestic market, (which can be marketed to) international inbound tourists when the border reopens.”

MTC also plans to host technical visits for agents to Pulau Tuba in Langkawi and the islands off Johor in June; as well as promote eco-tourism and community-based tourism in these destinations, in line with the National Tourism Masterplan.

Said Uzaidi: “In these challenging times, agents can no longer survive by selling dry rooms only as they will be competing directly with hotels.”

-TTG Asia.

New B2B portal to promote niche tourism products in Malaysia

 

Malaysia Tourism Council (MTC) will launch a B2B platform next month specialising in niche products, and targeted at both international and domestic travel trade players.

MTC president, Uzaidi Udanis, said he is targeting at least 500 activities and attractions from all across Malaysia when the platform goes live.

The platform, dubbed Universal Pass (UPass), will focus on Malaysian niche products that are not easily available to overseas wholesalers and not sold by OTAs. What sets it apart is its reservation system which allows bookings with instant confirmation and dynamic pricing.

Homestays, white water rafting, glamping by the river and adventure tours are among products to be featured on the platform, which will be run by a dedicated team from MTC and financed by industry players themselves. Uzaidi, however, declined to reveal the amount of investment.

On setting up the portal, Uzaidi said: “We are preparing for the reopening of international borders. When inbound travel restarts, we expect to see more travellers looking for unique, outdoor experiences and activities.

“This portal will be able to provide them with plenty of choices, and with dynamic pricing, trade buyers will be able to get some good deals, especially during low season.”

Once the platform goes live, MTC will start promoting the site to the international travel trade as well as keep them in the loop on the latest products and offerings in Malaysia.

Uzaidi said: “Overseas wholesalers will be able to make direct bookings with local product owners and suppliers, and get instant confirmation.”

-TTG Asia.

Tourism Malaysia fokus potensi pelancongan baharu di Indonesia

TASIKMALAYA (JAWA BARAT), 20 Feb (Bernama) -- Tourism Malaysia di Indonesia yang mencapai sasaran 3.4 juta pelancong negara itu ke Malaysia pada 2018, kini memfokuskan peluang-peluang baharu di kabupaten atau daerah-daerah baharu di Indonesia.

Pengarah Tourism Malaysia di Indonesia, Roslan Othman berkata kerjasama bersama pemerintah wilayah dan daerah dilihat akan merancakkan lagi industri pelancongan demi kepentingan dan manfaat bersama.

"Kabupaten Tasikmalaya misalnya, masih ramai pelancong Malaysia yang tidak mengetahui kawasan ini yang turut menawarkan aktiviti pelancongan yang menarik untuk rakyat Malaysia.

"Selain itu, kerjasama ini juga membuka peluang kepada ejen-ejen pelancongan kita untuk menarik pelancong dari sini ke Malaysia yang kami sasarkan melebih 3.4 juta untuk tahun 2019," katanya kepada Bernama pada Majlis ‘Malaysia-Indonesia: Tourism Gathering Tasikmalaya/Cirebon’ di sini yang disertai lebih 30 ejen pelancongan dari Malaysia dan ejen pelancongan Tasikmalaya.

Wakil Walikota Tasikmalaya, Dr H. Muhammad Yusuf berkata Tasikmalaya yang terletak kira-kira 75km dari Bandung, ternyata masih belum popular dalam kalangan pelancong luar, termasuk dari Malaysia.

"Sedangkan banyak produk kraftangan, lukisan, batik, yang dijual dan dibeli pelancong luar di Bandung adalah berasal dari Tasikmalaya.

"Pelancong juga hanya melewati (melalui) Tasikmalaya untuk ke Yogyakarta. Justeru, perancangan kami kini bekerjasama dengan Tourism Malaysia untuk menarik lebih ramai pelancong ke sini," katanya.

Kota Tasikmalaya yang mempunyai hampir 1 juta penduduk itu terkenal dengan kraftangannya yang menarik seperti payung Geulis yang menjadi ikon Jawa Barat, barangan kulit, batik serta keindahan alam semula jadi seperti tasik Situ Gede dan Gunung Galunggung.

"Kota Tasikmalaya ini tidak jauh dari Bandung tapi perjalanan dengan kenderaan ke sini mengambil masa melebihi tiga jam atas faktor jalan rayanya yang berliku dan mendaki kawasan tanah tinggi.

"Perancangan kami adalah untuk menaik taraf jalan raya dari Bandung ke Tasikmalaya mulai tahun ini, selain menaik taraf lapangan terbang di Tasikmalaya menjelang tahun 2022, bagi membolehkan penerbangan antarabangsa diadakan ke sini," katanya.

Sementara itu, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif ATS Global Travel & Charter Sdn Bhd Azizie Othman, syarikat yang menguruskan pakej dan tiket pesawat umrah ke Tanah Suci, berkata mereka berjaya menguruskan lebih 10,000 jemaah Indonesia sepanjang tahun lepas.

"Tahun lepas kami menguruskan sebanyak 28,000 jemaah umrah, 10,000 adalah dari Indonesia. Ramai pelanggan kami adalah dari Jakarta, Pekan Baru, Padang, Medan, Surabaya dan Bandung," katanya.

Beliau berkata terdapat 1,000 pesantren atau pondok agama di Tasikmalaya dan syarikat mereka melihat potensi besar untuk menguruskan jemaah umrah dari Tasikmalaya ke Tanah Suci.

"Indonesia berpenduduk melebihi 260 juta orang, ramai kalangan mereka mahu dan berminat menggunakan perkhidmatan ejen-ejen di Malaysia untuk ke Tanah Suci atas faktor perkhidmatan yang lebih baik, selain kekangan tertentu di sini seperti jumlah pesawat yang tidak mencukupi dan sebagainya," katanya.

Sementara itu, Timbalan Presiden Majlis Pelancongan Malaysia Datuk Sahariman Hamdan berkata program Tourism Gathering itu akan dapat memberi manfaat kepada kedua-dua pihak dalam industri pelancongan.

"Menerusi program ini kami dapat mendekatkan lagi ejen-ejen pelancongan setempat dengan ejen-ejen di Malaysia, jadi mereka yang mahu berurusan tidak perlu lagi menggunakan pihak ketiga, terus berurusan dengan ejen yang menguruskan pakej-pakej pelancongan secara terus," katanya.

-Bernama.

Industry players must help make Malaysia a tourism destination

SERI KEMBANGAN, Oct 31 (Bernama) -- Tourism industry players must play their part in embracing innovative tourism products to make Malaysia a tourism destination, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

She said the players must ask themselves whether they had strategic plans in place to attract tourists to the country and whether they were ready to provide their best to cater to the taste-buds of foreign guests from different parts of the world.

“Growing the tourism industry in Malaysia is a partnership - one that is forged between the government and the private sector. Healthy competition is also vital in bringing out the best in each other,” she said in her keynote address before launching the Malaysia Tourism Council Gold Award 2018 gala dinner here tonight.

Dr Wan Azizah explained that it was vital that tourism players value-add to their tourism products and enhance their promotions, so that they would be more attractive, comprehensive and competitive.

She pointed out that in this digital age, Malaysia could no longer promote the country’s tourism potential through traditional means.

“Social media, home-sharing sites and mobile apps are just some of the more creative and proactive means of promoting our tourism products which must be utilised and expanded upon,” she said.

Dr Wan Azizah emphasised that tourism industry players must also be creative enough to compete on the global stage and win the hearts of tourists in choosing Malaysia as their travel destination.

“I believe the government has been proactive in providing the needed infrastructure to promote the country’s tourism industry. In fact, many government agencies have also been established to further strengthen this industry,” she said.

The deputy prime minister highlighted that tourism had become the second largest foreign exchange earner for the country with 25.9 million tourist arrivals and RM82.2 billion in tourism revenue last year and the most number of tourists to Malaysia came from Singapore, followed by Indonesia, China and Thailand.

She said tourism industry’s contribution to the local economy was approximately 15 per cent and had also created employment opportunities for some 3.2 million people, making up 22.7 per cent of the total employment in Malaysia.

“InsyaAllah, we will achieve our target of 26.4 million tourist arrivals this year and 30 million tourist arrivals by 2020.

“Tourism industry players, however, cannot be complacent with these numbers. New markets such as the Middle East, South America, Australia and New Zealand should be tapped and expanded upon,” she said.

Dr Wan Azizah, who is also the Women, Family and Community Development Minister, also expressed hope that more women would enter the tourism industry as the trend of tourism workforce had changed in 2016 when more than half the employees were women.

She also said it was the government’s wish to assure all investors that Malaysia would remain a strategic partner for their investment plans including the National EcoTourism Plan 2016-2025, which aims to provide for the strategic direction for the development of ecotourism in Malaysia.

She said the government was also giving RM700,000 in tax exemptions for companies that promote arts and culture.

Meanwhile, Palace of Golden Horses won the Gold Award for Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition (MICE) Hotel, meanwhile Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside bagged three prestigious awards - the Best Five Star Hotel, the Best Five Star Meetings and Events Venue, as well as Best Outstanding Hotel Personality of the Year.

-bernama.

Tourism Malaysia DG Is “Man Of The Year Tourism Icon 2017”

PUTRAJAYA, 21 November 2017 – Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, Director General of Tourism Malaysia, was named “Man of the Year Tourism Icon 2017” by the Malaysia Tourism Council at its Gold Awards 2017 presentation.

He was among the 39 award recipients recognized by the council at Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur, last night, for excellence and support in the development of Malaysia’s tourism industry.

Datuk Seri Mirza joined the Tourist Development Corporation Malaysia (TDC), as the organisation was known then, in 1982 after having graduated with a diploma in tourism administration and a bachelor degree in business administration. While in service, he continued his studies in business administration and received a master’s degree from Ohio University in 1993.

His steadfast commitment and dedication in promoting the industry for over three decades while overcoming various challenges along the way have made Datuk Seri Mirza one of the country’s foremost marketing personalities and tourism luminaries.

Datuk Seri Mirza’s leadership and passion towards the industry have contributed significantly to the continuous growth of the country’s tourist arrivals and receipts, where both had grown by over 50% in the last decade.

While promoting the country globally, Datuk Seri Mirza also placed strong emphasis on domestic tourism, resulting in continuous growth of domestic tourists and receipts as well.

During his tenure with Tourism Malaysia, Datuk Seri Mirza served in various capacities. He was directly in charge of various key portfolios including advertising, international promotions, conventions, marketing support services, communications and domestic promotions. He headed the Tourism Malaysia office in Frankfurt, overseeing tourism promotion efforts in Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland in 1989, followed by his appointment as the director of Tourism Malaysia Tokyo office from 1995 to 2000. He was appointed as Director General of Tourism Malaysia on 1 September 2006.

He has led many tourism delegations and international promotion missions, and represented Tourism Malaysia and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture at various seminars, conventions, and tourism expos, both locally and internationally, such as the annual ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF); International Tourism Bourse (ITB) Berlin; Arabian Travel Market (ATM) Dubai; World Travel Fair Shanghai; and World Travel Market (WTM) London.

Tourism Malaysia’s success in tourism promotion can be testified by the various international recognitions and awards that Malaysia received over the years. The country represented the only Asian country in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2014. It has also been crowned Asia’s Best Golf Destination, Lonely Planet’s Best Family Destination, world’s top Muslim-Friendly Destination, and the fourth Best Shopping City in the world for 2012 and 2013 (Kuala Lumpur).

For his outstanding marketing efforts internationally, he was awarded the title of “Tourism Marketing Man of the Year” by the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) in 2004 during ITB Berlin.

Born in Bagan Serai, Perak in 1958, he spent his childhood as an active boy scout who enjoyed adventure, nature and wildlife during his school days. He is married to Zarina Banu Mumtaz Ahmad and they have three children.

-Tourism Malaysia.

Hotels with contracts to get tourism tax exemption

KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — Hotels bound by contract to foreign tour operators until March 31 next year will be exempted from the tourism tax, the Tourism and Culture Ministry said. 

This follows a meeting between the ministry and industry players on Tuesday to cushion the impact of the tax on stakeholders when it comes into effect on Aug 1. 

The minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, said: “The contracted rates would be considered up to March 31, and by April 1, next year, all contract rates should include the tourism tax.”

He also said in a statement that AirBnB properties would be rated and taxed, but would only include those with more than five rooms under the same owner.

Nazri said although the implementation of the tax was tentatively planned for Aug 1, it was still dependant on the readiness of the Customs Department. “The real date will be announced later,” he said. 

Contracts between local and foreign tour agencies on room rates and other special arrangements are renewed every April 1. 

Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (Mita) president Uzaidi Udanis said the incentive would be provided to tour operators under Mita, Malaysian Tourism Council (MTC) and Malaysia Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA).

“The minister has also guaranteed there will be incentives to offset cancellations of inbound group bookings and to avoid tour operators from forking out their own money,” he told a press conference at the Malaysia Tourism Centre.

He, however, said the form of incentives had not been finalised. 

Uzaidi said the meeting was useful as the minister was able to clarify how the collected tax would be utilised and the importance of having a sustainable fund for promotional purposes.

“Nazri has made it clear the collection would be channelled to promotional activities and improvements of tourism infrastructures,” he said. 

“We can understand this because it is important to persuade foreign tourists to come to our country and promoting Malaysia overseas is not cheap.” 

Uzaidi said the government was expected to collect about RM2.7 million in tax from Chinese tourists alone from August to December this year.

The tourism tax is levied on hotel rooms. It varies according to the types of accommodation and is charged on a per-room, per-night basis. 

The chargeable rate is RM2.50 for non-rated hotels, RM5 for two-star hotels, RM10 for three-star hotels, RM15 for four-star hotels and RM20 for five-star hotels.

-malaymail online.

Pelancong asing ceriakan majlis Aidilfitri di Dataran Merdeka

Uzaidi Udanis beramah mesra dengan beberapa pelancong dalam acara MTC Hari Raya

Greets The Tourist di Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, baru-baru ini.

KUALA LUMPUR 3 Julai – Majlis Pelancongan Malaysia (MTC) serta beberapa persatuan pe­lanco­ngan di bawah naungan MTC buat julung-julung kalinya menganjurkan acara ‘MTC Hari Raya Greets The Tourist’ di Da­taran Merdeka di sini pada Ahad lalu.

Presiden MTC, Uzaidi Udanis berkata, program tersebut bertujuan meraikan pelancong antarabangsa terutamanya dari China yang melawat Kuala Lumpur sempena cuti Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

“Semakin ramai pelancong antarabangsa melawat Kuala Lumpur pada musim perayaan dan sehubungan itu MTC me­ngambil inisiatif menganjurkan pelbagai program untuk memberi pengalaman unik kepada mereka dan merasai kemeriahan Aidilfitri.

“Dalam program ini, MTC juga mengagihkan biskut dan duit raya kepada pelancong, selain me­lakukan demonstrasi memasak serta mengacau dodol,” katanya dalam kenya­taan, di sini hari ini.

Selain itu, tambah Uzaidi, pelancong juga berpeluang merakam gambar kenangan bersama semua Exco MTC yang memakai baju tradisional.

Jelas beliau, percutian semasa musim festival menjadi faktor tarikan kepada pelancong antarabangsa untuk melawat Malaysia.

“Malaysia menjadi destinasi popular dalam kalangan pelancong, terutamanya ketika musim perayaan seperti Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

“Dengan adanya aktiviti sambutan Aidilfitri dan Iftar@KL ketika bulan Ramadan, MTC berharap lebih ramai pelancong akan melawat Malaysia terutamanya Kuala Lumpur,” ujarnya.

Program tersebut turut mendapat kerjasama Dewan Ban­daraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL), KL Tourism, KL Arch Gallery, Persatuan Pelancongan Dalam Negeri Malaysia (MITA) dan Super Coffee.

-utusan online.

Malaysia Tourism Council gets US$269k grant for tourism development

Malaysia Tourism Council (MTC) has been given a RM1 million (US$269,000) grant by the government to hold programmes and development projects to attract more tourists to the country.

“The grant will be spent on capacity building, education, research and tourism development programmes to improve the industry as well as marketing programmes overseas,” said MTC president, Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin.

Formerly known as the National Tourism Council Malaysia, MTC is the umbrella organisation for private sector associations, destination marketing organisations and regional tourism organisation, such as the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association.

Two international events that are set to benefit immediately from this grant are the National Cycling Tourism Summit 2015, taking place in Kuantan this Saturday, as well as the upcoming Community Homestay World Summit 2015.

The National Cycling Tourism Summit 2015 is full-day programme of talks on organising cycling events, marketing cycling packages and the health benefits of cycling.

On the other hand, the Community Homestay World Summit 2015 will be held in Kuala Lumpur from November 26 to December 2, jointly organised by MTC, the Homestay Association of Malaysia and the Australia-based International Community Homestay Tourism Network.

Gathering community homestay hosts and partners from Malaysia and overseas, the event will see exhibitions, forums, workshops and networking opportunities.

Sahariman Hamdan, president of Homestay Association of Malaysia and vice president of MTC, said: “The objective of this world summit is to promote Malaysia and strengthen relationships between different communities in the world who are engaged with community homestay tourism.”

-TTG Asia.