Tourism
From The Report: Malaysia 2014
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In 2013 tourism was the sixth-largest contributor to Malaysia’s economy, making up $16.1bn of gross national income, from seventh place in 2012. The government and the private sector have taken many concrete steps in recent years to ensure the arrival of more and more visitors, be it for business or leisure. In the year marked by two Malaysian Airlines tragedies, the industry is making a strong effort to regain the confidence of travellers, both foreign and local. ASEAN was Malaysia’s largest source of visitors in 2013, with 19m arrivals, or 74% of the total, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Top source countries were Singapore, Indonesia and China. An open-skies policy for ASEAN members, set to take effect in 2015, is likely to boost competition between carriers and lead to improvement in services. As South-east Asia in general becomes an increasingly popular destination, Malaysia’s tourism sector looks likely to loom increasingly large on global travel maps in the years to come. This chapter contains an interview with Ahmad Razlan, CEO, Sepang International Circuit (SIC).

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

A top destination: A growing sector puts emphasis on niche segments and broadening source markets
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The beaches, cities, cultural treasures and nature spots found in Malaysia are increasingly on international travellers’ must-see lists. Both the Malaysian government and private sector are keen to encourage this trend and have taken many concrete steps in recent years to ensure that more and more visitors – be they for business, leisure or both – cross the country’s frontiers every month. In a year marked by the tragedy of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared on March 8 en route…

Interview

OBG talks to Ahmad Razlan, CEO, Sepang International Circuit (SIC)
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Interview:Ahmad Razlan What has been the direct economic impact of the SIC since its inception? What were Sepang’s contributions to tourism receipts in 2013? AHMAD RAZLAN: The SIC engaged PwC to do the first economic study on the impact of the Formula One race on the Malaysian economy back in 2011. We decided to engage consultants to give us the assurance that the Formula One race was bringing about a positive economic impact to the country. One of the conclusions from the study showed…

Analysis

Adding to the mix: Initiatives are under way to attract premium travellers and boost the number of visitors from new markets
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The Malaysian tourism industry is currently striving to expand its traditional arrivals base – diversifying away from its dependence on visitors from Singapore and from lower-income regional neighbours like Indonesia – while also expanding the range of activities and holidays available to visitors. The government has therefore put into action a range of initiatives aimed at attracting greater numbers of visitors from non-traditional destinations and demographics. Neighbourhood Visits n 2013…

Analysis

Looking abroad: A push is under way to increase visitors from further afield
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Though a strong showing by Malaysia’s tourism industry in the first three months of 2014 may have been offset by an expected drop-off in arrivals from China, officials and travel bodies remain confident that any cooling in sentiment from the mainland will ease by the latter part of the year, giving the sector a lift in the final quarter. The tourism industry posted arrivals up 10% year-on-year for the first quarter of 2014, with just over 7m visitors, up from 6.5m for the same period in 2013, according…

Analysis

Full steam ahead: Raising standards in the cruise industry and promoting the country as a port of call
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A key group of travellers currently being courted by the Malaysian government’s tourism officials and businesses are those whose ideal holiday is an ocean cruise. Indeed, cruise tourism is an important Entry Point Project (EPP) identified in the national development plan, under the National Key Economic Area of tourism (see overview). This cruise EPP revolves around the creation of a “Straits Riviera” along Malaysia’s coastline, and is expected to generate RM1.758bn ($548.7m) in gross national…