Tourism industry growth to be boosted through VMY 2014

The Tourism and Culture Ministry will boost the country's tourism industry growth through the Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014 promotion campaign at the local and international level.

National Resources and Environment Deputy Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit said the year-long campaign wound be a proactive initiative to ensure that Malaysians were prepared to strive together to achieve the VMY 2014 targets.

Responding on behalf of the Tourism and Culture Ministry, Dawos said high expectations were placed on the people, especially the frontliners such as taxi drivers to welcome tourists with a positive image and attitude.

"The responsibility of wooing tourists is not only the ministry's, but also all the state and private travel agencies' and all Malaysians' to act as the country's 'tourism ambassadors'," he said when winding up the debate on the royal address in the Dewan Negara, here, today.

He said 4,000 taxi drivers had been given a course under the Taxi Ambassador programme, as well as taxi operators on their role in promoting the country and increasing tourist arrivals in Malaysia. "The ministry is also drawing up a tourism action plan to achieve the target of drawing 28 million tourists to the country so that our tourism industry will be able to move in tandem with that of other Asian countries," he said.