Malaysia, Saudi Arabia working together to revive tourism industry - MOTAC

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) said among the initiatives that had been discussed was the sharing of information on policies and best practices, particularly on measures to revive the tourism industry from the impact of COVID-19.

There will also be joint promotions of tourism programmes through social media and digital platforms to increase travel demand for both countries and the sharing of information and best practices in the sustainable management of cultural heritage sites as tourist attractions, the ministry said.

MOTAC said the close collaborative relationship between arts, heritage and cultural institutions as well as promotions in Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT) were also among the initiatives.

"These discussions are expected to open up greater tourism opportunities between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia in particular as well as countries in the Middle East in general," MOTAC said in a statement here today.

The initiatives were discussed in a virtual meeting between Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri and Saudi Arabian Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb, which was also attended by MOTAC secretary-general Datuk Dr Noor Zari Hamat.

In the meeting, it said Saudi Arabia had shared its experience of managing rural tourism programmes while Malaysia had also identified several new tourism products, including yet to be explored 'hidden gems' to be introduced to the world.

Of the overall total of 26.1 million tourist arrivals in Malaysia in 2019, arrivals from Saudi Arabia stood at 121,444 people, MOTAC said.