Govt aims to brand Malaysia as world's best ecotourism destination

He said the goal needs to be jointly shared by all interested parties, including the government, private entities, non-governmental organisations as well as industry players to ensure continued sustainable, competitive and inclusive development of ecotourism products.

"This effort should also be in line with the government's commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and 17 Sustainable Development Goals under the United Nations (UN).

"One of the strategies that need to be improved is through more aggressive and consistent activities in promoting and marketing ecotourism products to maintain the momentum of the ecotourism industry's growth in the country," he said.

He said this when launching the Natural Resources Ecotourism Empowerment Seminar programme at Pantai Cahaya Bulan here last night, which was also attended by Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (KeTSA) deputy secretary-general Abdul Wahid Abu Salim.

Elaborating, Takiyuddin said KeTSA would play a very significant role under the National Ecotourism Plan 2016-2025 and contribute towards increasing local economic generation around the ecotourism cluster.

"Malaysia is very rich with high-value natural resources and this is proven when it became one of 17 countries worldwide to be classified as a mega-diversity nation that holds various flora and fauna which have yet to be identified and fully explored.

"Under KeTSA, there are more than 150 ecotourism locations like Taman Negara, Hutan Taman Negeri, Ekorimba Parks, Geosites, Ramsar Sites, Wetlands and Malaysian Forestry Research Stations. These locations are among the country's natural resources that we must be grateful for, enjoy and take care of the best we can," he said.