Tourism Industry Needs To Focus On Quality Than On Tourist Arrivals.

Date: 29 January 2013

Tourism Industry Needs To Focus On Quality Than On Tourist Arrivals.

KUALA LUMPUR - The tourism industry needs to re-look at what it wants to achieve and focus more on quality than on tourist arrivals, said former Tourism Minister, Tan Sri Sabaruddin Chik.

He said based on recent statistics, while the number of tourist arrivals had increased substantially over the years, the occupancy rates in hotels had remained relatively unchanged.

"We need to focus on creating jobs for our people. This is what we should be focusing on and not just on the number of tourist arrivals," he said at the Kuala Lumpur Tourism Association tea reception in conjunction with its Golden Jubilee celebration.

Former managing director of Malaysia Airlines, Tan Sri Aziz Rahman, said the tourism industry needed to ensure that tourists will have a pleasant experience and continue to remember their stay in this country.

"The tourism industry in this country also need to upgrade skills. The government and private sector can team up to upgrade them," he said.

Aziz said another key issue was security and safety. "A tourist that got pickpocked, things snatched or lost belongings in the hotel room is a bad experience and the news will spread fast," he said.

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