Safety of country amidst terrorism threat crucial for tourism sector - Johari

The safety and security of the country amidst threats of terrorism is crucial to ensure that tourists continue to make Malaysia their destination and increase revenue in the tourism sector.

Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said the tourism industry creates 2.6 million in employment, thus prioritising the safety of the nation from threats posed by Daish militants was very important.

“I think all is still under control, we do not want to become like Turkey, Syria, Egypt and Iraq where you have all this political instability causing everyone to lose out.

Asked whether there had been cancellation by tourists intending to visit the country due to the Daesh threat, Johari said that the number of tourists flow into the country remained stable at the moment.

“At present, there has been no cancellation from tourists. We only had huge cancellations during the plight of MH370 and MH17,” he told a press conference at the 30th anniversary celebration of the Malaysia Tourism Council (MTC) at Dewan Perdana Felda, here on Saturday.

Meanwhile, MTC president Datuk Sri Mohd Shahkar Shamsudin in his speech said threats posed by terrorists and militants such as Daesh, have caused all those involved in tourism and the authorities to change their strategies.

“They are changing strategies not only to solve long term affects of tourism but have come to a realisation of the reality of such threats and current challenges.

“With a proper strategy, doors would indeed be open for new opportunities for our tourism sector at the global and local level,” said Mohd Shahkar.