Friday November 6, 2009

It’s time for a 1Tourism policy

WHY NOT? By WONG SAI WAN

Tourism is our second biggest revenue earner, yet it gets little consideration when it comes to drawing up long-term Government policies.

FOR years, our tourism authorities have been trying to get the country mentioned in some manner in international travel magazines, to get a leg up on neighbouring countries. After all, we are all selling the same thing – sun, sea, beaches, culture, food and, of course, value for money.

This week, the Tourism Ministry has hit pay dirt when the ever popular travel guide Lonely Planet listed the country as one of the top 10 countries to visit when the famed hitchhiker’s guide released its Best in Travel 2010 on Monday.

Although Lonely Planet started out life as a cheapskate guide to travel the world, it has since grown to be more than that.

There is now hardly a regular traveller – luxury or budget – who do not own a copy of the guide.

This year’s report is the fifth in its annual collection of the best places to go and best things to do in the year ahead.

Malaysia, according to the Lonely Planet report, “is a clever choice for travellers on the lookout for a bargain.”

The other countries listed are El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Portugal, Suriname, and the United States.

“This is a collection of destinations and experiences that we rate as the stuff people really should consider for next year. Whatever your own style dictates, you should be able to find inspiration in these destinations,” Lonely Planet Asia-Pacific communications manager Adam Bennett said when commenting about the release of its latest guide.

We all hope that the entire tourism industry will take advantage of this latest listing and get ready for the influx of visitors to our shores next year – that is how powerful Lonely Planet is.

However, what is really needed is a firm and consistent national policy that will enable us to keep these tourists coming year after year.

Our present target of getting 27 million tourists a year may seem lofty to some, but actually it is a pittance compared to real tourist-savvy destinations like Hong Kong or Singapore where they aim to get two to three tourists for every one of their residents.

Last year, we welcomed 22 million tourists who spent RM49.5bil.

Imagine what we will get if we are able to double the number of visitors. At RM100bil, the tourism industry will account for more than a quarter of the country’s GDP – making it the greatest income earner – outstripping even the revenue brought in by Petronas.

This is easier said than done because our country’s administration is not set up to be tourist-friendly.

Our policies, whether at local council, state or federal level contradict a pro-tourism approach.

With Pakatan Rakyat controlling four states – including Penang, once our best tourism product – some sort of unified policy with the Federal Government is going to be even more difficult.

Look at the squabble that has taken place over the use of other languages for road signs.

Even in a homogenous country like China where Chinese is the predominant language, there are plenty of road signs and tourism information notices in English and other languages – granted that some of them make amusing reading because of the poor command of the languages.

They may be funny to read but most tourists find them informative as the message does get across.

Another point of contention is that we have always marketed Malaysia as a value-for-money destination, yet our taxation policy is not consistent with this tagline.

Most Western tourists are partial to a beer or two wherever they go but our beer and wine are among the most expensive in the world because of our “sin tax” policy.

Hong Kong used to follow the same tax regime but in recognition of the contribution of the food and beverage sector in attracting tourism, wine is now tax-free in the Chinese territory as of last year.

Wine has an acquired taste and having cheap booze does not turn us into a country of drunkards.

If the authorities here are so afraid of the backlash from PAS Youth and other extremists, then make tax-free vouchers easily available for visitors to our country so that they can enjoy their tipple.

Even in the Arab world there are dry zones and drinking zones. Go to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and alcohol is widely served to foreigners and no locals take offence.

Taxation on booze is not the only gripe the tourism players have. Before the intervention of the anti-red tape panel Pemudah, it took 42 licences just to set up a hotel.

It is supposed to have changed but many hoteliers are privately saying that while the applications of these licences are no longer needed, the number of inspections by the 42 authorities are still being carried out.

Our “Malaysia, truly Asia” tagline is known worldwide and is probably one of the most successful campaigns carried out by Tourism Malaysia.

It promotes our country as a destination that offers multicultural sights and sounds.

But let’s be realistic – when was the last time a lion dance or a classical Indian dance was used to welcome tourists at an airport, or performed at any national function besides Chinese New Year and Deepavali national open houses?

Instead, there seems to be some sort of quota system imposed on the various cultural performances, with Malay performances getting more airtime than others.

I may be wrong but if we are selling our country as “truly Asia”, then should we not push multiculturalism a bit more instead of just token representation?

I have travelled often enough all over the world with the tourism people and seen our cultural performances at home and abroad.

They are all co-ordinated and choreographed very well but mostly Malay culture–centred.

I like and enjoy Malay cultural performances but can’t we mix it up a bit more for tourist-attracting purposes?

There are many more policies out there which are not tourist-friendly like visa requirements, currency exchange and even proper travelling guides. It is time we relooked at all of these and become a real tourist destination.

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