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RECENTLY, the Malaysian Tourist Guides Council president Jimmy Leong Wie Kong called for immediate upgrades to tourism facilities and attractions so Malaysia will be seen as more than just a cheap holiday destination. 
He called on Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing to look at “quality tourism” rather than “quantity tourism” by marketing Malaysia as a value-for-money holiday destination.
Leong said Malaysia has been falling behind its Asean neighbours in recent years, and that there is a dire need to bump up the nation’s tourist arrival numbers.
He said: “Asean is a big market with even Thailand and other countries moving away from cheap tourism. Therefore, we should stop selling our destination as a cheap holiday place.
“We should not be going back to the pre-pandemic era when Malaysia was involved in zero-cost tours where shopping was used to pay the costs for visitors’ holiday packages, especially for those from mainland China.
“This tarnished our image and is not sustainable. It is our hope the minister would understand this had propelled our industry in the wrong direction.”
He pointed out that low-priced packages have resulted in tourists being pressured into paying high prices for food, lodging and souvenirs.
But this is a rather old matter and no longer an issue. As far back as March 2003, then tourism minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir said zero-cost tours must stop.
It was only in October 2013 that China banned overseas trips sold below cost as passengers would be coerced to shop so tour operators can recover costs and profits from shopping commissions.
Since then, the unhealthy practice has been curbed, although odd cases may crop up occasionally. It is unlikely to make a comeback as the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry and industry players are ever vigilant.
However, Leong correctly said the ministry should market Malaysia as a value-for-money holiday destination. But his statement that “we should stop selling our destination as a cheap holiday place” ought to be scrutinised.
As far as I know, the tourism ministry and its promotion arm Tourism Malaysia have never sold Malaysia as a cheap holiday destination. In fact, no national tourism organisation has ever given an indication on prices.
The closest hints were using assuring and general terms such as affordable, meaning reasonably priced; and value-for-money, which means acceptable quality without being overpriced. It is entirely up to individual businesses to decide on the quality and price of their goods or services. In any developing market, the right mix should be offering a wide range, from luxury to budget packages.
If Malaysia were a city-state like Singapore with limited space to accommodate tourists, then we should target only high-spending visitors. But our country is 471 times larger, with richer urban centres and poorer rural areas.
Our tourism infrastructure and ecosystem cater for both foreign and domestic tourists, and also excursionists, all with varying purchasing power. Our hotels range from five stars and above to no-star and budget hotels, and they cater to various guests without displacing any class of tourist.
One example is Pangkor Laut. Since the world-class resort was opened in 1985, nothing less than five-star accommodation has been available on this small island of 121ha.
In short, it is up to individual businesses to carve their own niche market and promote their products. It is not for the ministry to promote only high-end products, although such images are often used.
It is true that tourism expenditure is more important than tourist arrival figures, and this is already well-known and put into practice.
Those attending the Travel and Tours Enhancement Course will learn about Tourism Malaysia’s many initiatives and efforts, which include increasing length of stay and expanding the share of business events.
For example, one million tourists staying for one night will contribute to one million night stays. But getting the same number to stay for seven nights would result in seven million night stays.
Tourists attending business events such as conferences and exhibitions tend to stay in five-star hotels and are expected to spend more than leisure tourists.
But it would be a mistake to discount foreign tourists staying at cheaper hotels as many could be seen spending heavily on shopping.
For example, the number of tourists from China to Malaysia may rank third in 2019, but in terms of tourist expenditure, the group ranked second.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, Chinese travellers spent US$255 billion (RM1.13 trillion) overseas in 2019, accounting for almost 20% of all international tourism spending.
Clearly, cherry-picking the type of tourist our country should have could be counterproductive in the long run.
Students and backpackers are two groups known to travel on a small budget, but they should be welcomed all the same.
In fact, we should accord them our best hospitality as they are particularly receptive and likely to make repeated visits in later years when they become successful executives or businessmen.
A backpacker could be deeply touched by the warmth and friendliness of villagers or small-town folks that he could one day return as a big-time investor and generate hundreds of jobs for the locals.
Except for small islands, we are still many years away from reaching saturation point. Therefore, we need the quantity by getting as many tourists as we can so they can spread their tourist spending all over the country.
As for quality, the only way left to increase yield is to raise standards and prices accordingly.
Thus, all of us in Malaysia should welcome bona fide tourists wholeheartedly without any reservation or discrimination.
Lest we forget, our greatest tourism asset is our people. Malaysians are naturally friendly, making visitors feel welcome. It is best summed up by the name of the tourism ministry’s customer service training programme dubbed “Mesra Malaysia”. – December 13, 2022.
* YS Chan reads The Malaysian Insight.
* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.
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