Develop community tourism

TS,Tuesday 20 December 2011 

In 2010, Malaysia earned RM56.5bil in tourism receipts from 24.6 million visitor arrivals, which did not include day-trippers. 

Apart from leisure and holidays, foreigners enter our country for other reasons such as work, business, conference, exhibition, education, sports and medical treatment. It includes Singaporeans who stay overnight in their Malaysian homes. 

As such, the number of Singaporeans visitors recorded was over 13 million, well excess of its population, and took the lion’s share at 53% of all arrivals. 

The combined total for the other four-neigbouring countries - Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei and Philippines - was 23%. 

Other nations in the top 10 are China, India, Australia, Britain and Japan. Together, they made up 13%. The balance of 11% is mainly from other Asian and European countries. 

The Tourism Ministry has been brandishing 36:168 or 36 million in visitor arrivals and RM168bil in tourism receipts by 2020. 

It was reported that RM34.7bil in revenue was generated last year by 111.5 million domestic tourists, of whom 75.9 million were day-trippers. 

However, there has been a dip in the global tourism market. Therefore, the Tourism Ministry will be stepping up domestic tourism promotion to mitigate any shortfall. 

The full potential of domestic tourism can only be realised when all parties involved have a clear understanding of this sector. 

For example, players in the inbound market are aware that their customers are overseas and the likelihood of them visiting our country is largely dependent on their access, mainly by flights, to Malaysia. 

Inbound tourists who do not leave things to chance secure reservations in advance for their hotel stay and often airport transfers. 

Such bookings are made through travel or tour operators or directly by those who are more confident and internet savvy. 

Customers for both outbound and domestic tours are similar. They are sold to anyone within the country, regardless of nationality. The difference lies in the destination, one is out of country, the other within. 

Therefore, these customers are not limited to Malaysians but include foreigners residing here such as students, workers and expatriates; and foreign travellers purchasing tourism services during their stay. 

With regard to the RM56.5bil in tourism receipts, about 55% is swallowed by the hospitality sector, which includes hotels and restaurants. Shopping will carve out 25% of the cake if Malaysia is successfully promoted as a shopping haven. 

The balance of 20% is shared by a myriad of other services such as transportation by air, rail and road; entertainments at theme parks, shows and nightspots; jungle, river or sea adventures; sightseeing and many more. 

The inbound market constitutes a small percentage of the overall business conducted by the 3,187 licensed travel and tour companies currently registered with the Ministry of Tourism. For them, the outbound market is very much bigger. 

The Tourism Ministry should accord more importance to outbound tours, as tourism is also a two-way trade. 

Malaysians displaying exemplary behaviour are good ambassadors for our country and play a role in attracting more foreign visitors. 

Tour operators can better promote domestic tourism if they are told how the RM34.7bil revenue is computed and the 111.5 million domestic tourists are counted. 

There seem to be some confusion with the word tourism especially at the state and district levels. Pristine areas have been exploited in the name of tourism causing great harm to the ecology and degradation of the environment.

Classic examples are building access roads to mountain streams or waterfalls. No doubt, visitors and hawkers will be streaming in especially during weekends but they also leave behind a mountain of garbage strewn everywhere. 

Such developments are more for leisure and recreation rather than tourism per se. Encouraging people to enjoy nature also come at the expense of polluting it. More subsidised fossil fuels will be burnt and safety is a concern at these isolated spots. 

The authorities ought to know that tourism is a business, and it must be sustainable. 

We do not have to spend huge sums of money to develop a destination into “world-class” standard. They may appear modern and sanitised but to the mature tourists, they are hollow, without soul 

Instead of continuing to build and maintain infrastructures, it will be better to harness available resources. 

Instead of churning out standard tour packages, it would be better to develop community tourism. 

Local people in villages or towns can be roped in to contribute and participate more fully in tourism. 

It can be fascinating to both visitors and locals alike to trace the history of their settlements and see for themselves how the village or town has grown, and the trials and tribulations the residents have gone through. 

Villages can easily be turned into tourism goldmines. Empty land can be used for tourists to plant trees or organic vegetables to be looked after by the villagers for an appropriate fee. 

Tourists can learn to make or buy handicraft made from local materials or polish hard stones into pretty objects as little skill is required. 

Tourist information can be posted online together with the hotels, chalets and homestays available, plus the best places to sample popular local food. 

Anyone who immerses himself or herself into the community can be assured of an enriching experience. The locals, too, must become the perfect hosts when they open up their hearts and minds to welcome visitors. 

A good example is the traditional Malay wedding. Many expatriates serving here would love the chance to get married all over again, and their families and many relatives and friends from overseas can be invited. 

It will be a thrill for the couple to be the Sultan and Sultannah for a day and their relatives and friends to learn and perform Malay dances and silat at the bersanding in an authentic Malay village. Imagine such events are regularly uploaded at YouTube! 

It is time we realise that people are our best asset. As such, domestic tourism should be developed by empowering local communities. The Tourism Ministry can provide the template for each village or town to showcase their attractions. 

Every destination has a unique story to tell and all of them are worth visiting. It will also promote communities to come together and taking greater pride in their local history and roots. 

Domestic tourism is not exclusive to licensed tour operators and tourist guides. 

There are many interesting activities the locals can organise. One beautiful example is planting flowers by the roadside that stretches for miles. 

YS Chan, 

Kuala Lumpur.