Post MCO: Domestic tourism to expand 30 per cent

The country's domestic tourism activity is expected to grow 30 per cent over the next six months to a year, under the post Movement Control Order (MCO).

Tourism Malaysia Domestic Events Division, senior director Datuk Dr Ammar Abd Ghapar said, based on the findings of the agency's study, local tourists were seen as more courageous to travel domestically during the period.

He said the domestic tourism patterns were also expected to change with the family tourism segment being the top choice.

"As soon as the Prime Minister (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) announced that the domestic tourism sector is allowed to operate from June 10, we see people starting to travel around the country.

"In fact, the study found that the next trend of travel is that people choose to go with their families. Therefore, industry players need to be prepared with products and offers that meet the demand of this segment," he said.

He said this at a press conference following the launch of the Tourism Sector Recovery Post MCO Seminar and the launch of the domestic tourism portal, ditofa.com, at the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre today.

Also present were Malaysian Association of Tour Agency (MATA) president Datuk Mohd Khalid Harun and ditofa.com chief executive officer Haffiz Halim.

Commenting on the portal ditofa.com, Ammar said the digital platform, developed locally, was an effort to help industry players market and promote their tourism products and offers, especially after the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

He said the portal not only facilitated hotel and accommodation bookings, but also offered attractive deals for Umrah categories, tourist attractions and other tourism activities.

-- BERNAMA