This was in response to a question posted by the media about the impact of anti-Muslim activities around the world on its destination marketing strategy.
While Malaysia registered a 6.3% decline in tourist arrivals last year, it is not because of its ‘Muslim-friendly’ label, said Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, director general of Tourism Malaysia who was in Jakarta, Indonesia for the PATA Travel Mart 2016.
This was in response to a question posted by the media about the impact of anti-Muslim activities around the world on its destination marketing strategy.
According to the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) compiled by CrescentRating in partnership with MasterCard, Malaysia continues to top the list this year as the most Muslim-friendly Muslim country in the world.
Instead, Mirza believes it boils down to the overstated security threats brought about by travel advisories when an incident happens in one corner, as well as airline issues such as the MAS restructuring programme, which has decided not to fly direct to certain countries.
Emphasising that Malaysia has never deliberately branded itself as a Muslim-friendly country, Mirza said, “Tourism doesn’t pay too much attention to your religion; instead it is more so about the hospitality you’re providing, the value-addedness and the interesting experiences, which we have.”
Echoing his sentiments was Arief Yahya, Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia, who believes that tourism is all about lifestyle, not religion, and that Halal tourism is a business of marketing where providing good service matters more to tourists, Muslim or not.
Concluded Mirza, “Malaysia will continue to market itself as ‘Truly Asia’ – a melting pot of cultures, and, for some countries where it matters, we will introduce ourselves as Muslim-friendly.”