BANGSAR: On 6 July 2022 The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Binti Shukri exclusively hosted a high tea with nine Ambassadors and High Commissioners from the ASEAN countries.
It was an absolute privilege for Tourism Malaysia to bring together, His Excellency Ambassadors from Cambodia, Indonesia, Her Excellency from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, His Excellency from the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, as well as High Commissioners from Singapore and Brunei, for the very first time.
The high tea was held to foster a closer bilateral relationship between Malaysia and the ASEAN countries as well as to reconnect after two long years of bracing the COVID-19 pandemic. The meet also served as an introduction and a teaser to a 3-day-2-night (3D2N) retreat for all Ambassadors and High Commissioners to explore the state of Pahang, scheduled in August 2022.
During the recent ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) that was held in Cambodia in January, the Joint Media Statement of the 25th Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers stated the way forward for the Region to recover through the implementation of the Post-Covid-19 Recovery Plan for ASEAN National Tourism Organisations (NTO), which was endorsed in September 2021.
Dato’ Sri Nancy said, “Moving forward, I believe we can work together to strengthen collaborations in marketing and promoting the region’s tourism offerings. This is also in line with the new ASEAN branding a destination for every dream, where we can continue to market Southeast Asia as a single destination.”
ASEAN countries have been the major contributors to Malaysia’s international tourist arrivals. In 2019, the total arrivals to Malaysia from the ASEAN region was 17,880,151, a 68.5% share of the overall arrivals of 26,100,784 tourists. Despite the closed borders in 2020 and 2021, essential travelers traveling into Malaysia still contributed 68% of the total tourist arrivals, i.e 2,949,363 in 2020 and 91,665 in 2021.
Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, also known as Tourism Malaysia, is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia. It focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia as a preferred tourism destination. Since its inception, it has emerged as a major player in the international tourism scene. For more information, visit Tourism Malaysia’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.
Photo by: Supplied
