KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) did not ignore Langkawi in promoting tourism products of the island resort.
Its deputy minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan said Langkawi is among the top priority products in tourism sales missions abroad.
“This is very clear and it is the resolution of the ministry…as the government had spent an enormous amount of funds on Langkawi. There is no reason why the ministry through Tourism Malaysia did not promote Langkawi,” he said.
He was winding the debate on the Supply Bill 2024 at committee stage for the ministry at Dewan Rakyat today.
Earlier, during the debate, Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah (PN-Langkawi) alleged promotion for island products in the country especially Langkawi was weak.
Khairul Firdaus said MOTAC through Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) has supported activities organised on the island including business and international sports events such as Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition, Ironman race and Langkawi International Half Marathon 2023 which will be held on Dec 2.
Apart from that, he said MyCEB also supported the Royal Langkawi Yacht Championship 2024 which will be held on Jan 15 to 24 next year.
Meanwhile, he said Malaysia is targeting to attract tourist arrivals especially from 10 countries via Visit Malaysia Year 2026 among them are Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei, India, China, South Korea and Australia.
He said the target is based on the total and trend of tourist arrivals from these countries in the past few years.
The Dewan Rakyat later passed the management and development expenditure estimate totalling RM1,083,562,100 which was allocated to the ministry with more voice in support after being debated by 21 MPs.
The Dewan Rakyat will sit again on Monday. –Bernama
