COMMENTARY
To many tourism industry personnel, ‘Malaysia Truly Asia’ is merely a slogan introduced in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2007, and later rehashed to ‘Celebrating Malaysia Truly Asia’ for VMY 2014.
But I knew we were already truly Asia 510 years ago when the Portuguese set foot on Melaka in 1509.
They saw merchant ships and people from West, South, Southeast and East Asia residing and trading there.
In its heyday, as many as 84 different languages were spoken and even more cultures practised there, making Melaka a microcosm of Asia.
The Portuguese loved Melaka so much that they returned two years later to capture and ruled it for 130 years until they were driven out by the Dutch, who occupied Melaka for 183 years until it was exchanged with the British for Bengkulu in West Sumatra.
If not for four years of Japanese occupation, Melaka would have been under British administration for 133 years.
In other words, Melaka had attracted people from all over the world, with many staying as long as they could, for over half a millennium.
For the record, the rest of our country was just as alluring and the reasons for so many people coming to trade or settle down here were likely to be similar to foreign tourists visiting Malaysia today, with holidaymakers now forming the majority.
When Malaya gained independence in 1957 and Malaysia was formed in 1963, our country was truly a tropical paradise.
Apart from the population then, our greatest assets were our virgin jungles with pristine rivers flowing into the sea, allowing flora and fauna to thrive.
But in the haste for development, most of our jungles were cut down and many of our rivers polluted.
When they are irreplaceable or irreversible, we have lost them forever. As pristine natural habitats around the world continue to shrink, the remaining ones rise in tourism value.
Sun, sand and sea are sure-fire formula to entice tourists yearning for warm weather and waters, and photos or videos of uncrowded beaches and deep blue seas are aimed at attracting them to Malaysia like moths to a flame.
Our natural attractions also include climbable mountains, cool highland resorts, mystical caves, majestic tress, national parks with interesting animals and plants, beautiful flowers and birds, all living wild and free in unspoiled natural environments away from city smog.
Our cities too have much to offer, as tourists spent most on shopping and we have more than enough malls to cater to their needs, including a great variety of foods to satisfy different taste buds, and local fruits such as durians, which can be hell for some but heaven to many.
Those making Do-It-Yourself (DIY) travel arrangements are no longer at the mercy of taxi drivers, as e-hailing service allows them easy access to private cars that are cheaper and more reliable.
With local transport no longer problematic, tourists can stay at cheaper hotels further away or in private residences booked through Airbnb.
With the advent of budget airlines, it may be cheaper to fly than drive, and airfares to neighbouring countries can be lower than domestic flights.
With Malaysia offering visa free entry between 14 to 90 days for citizens from 154 countries, and e-Visa facility for 10 more, our doors are wide open for foreign tourists.
Last year, Malaysia recorded 25,832,354 foreign tourist arrivals but 54 per cent came from three neighbouring countries that entered Malaysia mainly through land border crossings. There were 10,615,986 Singaporeans, 1,914,692 Thais and 1,382,031 Bruneians.
If figures from outside Asean are excluded, Malaysia received only 7,717,908 tourists compared to 11,985,897 to Singapore. Why is it that a city state attracted much more non-Asean tourists than Malaysia?
If all foreign tourists are counted, Kuala Lumpur alone recorded 12.58 million last year, not far behind Singapore’s 13.91 million. And yet we have many other destinations throughout our country, from duty-free Langkawi island in Kedah to the highest peak in Southeast Asia in Sabah.
Perhaps, images of our many attractions alone were not enough to draw larger number of tourists to our country. Could it possibly be due to the missing last mile? This is not an issue if tourists had decided in advance what they want to do while in Malaysia.
Those who have bought tour packages and travelling on Group Inclusive Tours (GIT) or Free Independent Travellers (FIT) will have local tour operators taking them to various places as spelt out in the itinerary.
But the majority of travellers today no longer buy tour packages, as they could easily book airline tickets, hotel or non-hotel accommodation and travel in taxis or private vehicles through e-hailing. Those making DIY arrangements choose destinations that provide precise information.
These travellers would only come to Malaysia if they know of specific events or places that are worth a visit, and how to get there, how long does it take and the estimated cost. For example, just telling or claiming that our country or a city is famous for delicious food just won’t be enough.
They need to be shown exact places, specific dishes and why they are so good. A good example is a 1-minute-38-second video clip on Hawker Chan Restaurant in Jalan Theatre at Taman Jubilee, Ipoh.
The clip would spur many viewers going to Ipoh and try out the world’s first Michelin-starred hawker food. From RM6.80 onwards, it is also the cheapest Michelin meal ever, and the star dish is the soya sauce chicken rice.
Every city or district must have an authoritative Michelin-like destination app recommending the best places to visit, the best food in town, the best outlets to buy local produce, how to get there and a variety of hotels and accommodation available.
Over the past decades, our tourism authorities have been talking about using our multi-cultures to attract foreign tourists. But what is culture? If a foreigner came all the way to see Malaysian culture, what can the locals show?
I have given training to hundreds of tourism personnel in recent years. None of them could suggest anything except cultural dances. But what we sometimes get to see are more like staged shows with dancers wearing costumes that are purely a designer’s fancy, like outlandish ‘national costumes’ worn in international beauty contests.
Surely culture should be much more authentic and practised by large number of people instead of individuals or isolated events. Traditional dances are performed and celebrated by the locals wearing traditional dresses, not a put-on show by semi-professionals.
Although Citrawarna, also known as Colours of Malaysia, had been held annually since 1999 at the Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur, the majority of travel industry personnel attending a nationwide training programme are not aware of its existence.
There is no doubt the event is hugely popular with the locals as they get to watch for free hundreds of dancers in colourful costumes performing to loud music culminating in fireworks.
Would foreigners travel to Malaysia just for Citrawarna in the same manner large numbers visit Brazil to watch the Rio Carnival?
Was it possible that the presence of foreigners at Citrawarna could be coincidental that they happen to be in Kuala Lumpur or were given free bus rides to the venue from their hotels?
A good way to promote many of our official tourism events is to conduct online surveys and offering prizes within a short period to encourage participation.
Another method is to select a different tourism product each week and invite tour operators to submit travel packages that feature the product.
These packages, headed by the top 10, could be posted in a website for all to view, compare, book or learn.
If not, many promotional activities are nothing more than ‘syiok sendiri’ exercises when they remain largely unknown or did not trigger the right response from the targeted audience.
The only way to measure is on the ground as experts could offer academic opinions far from reality.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
