INDIVIDUALS and industry players have a role to play in efforts to boost the local tourism industry and make Malaysia a destination of choice for tourists.

Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik said the Visit Malaysia Year 2020 (VMY2020) campaign was a national mission in which all Malaysians must participate.

“The government is confident that with the participation of the private sector, the target of 30 million tourists and tourism revenue of RM100 billion can be easily achieved,” he said at the launch of the VMY2020 in Penang in George Town last night.

Bakhtiar said he was optimistic about achieving the target and hoped that industry players and individuals would ensure that the services they offer are of high quality.

“We must ensure that the services are top quality and include what tourists want, such as cleanliness and transportation, kindness, safety and a personal touch, which are important to tourists, who will remember them and take back good memories of Malaysia,” he said.

Taking Penang as an example, he said it has to look for the X-factor that makes the island different from other states in Malaysia to draw more tourists.

He said the ministry welcomed anyone who wanted to use the logo and songs of the campaign for their events to increase public awareness.

Meanwhile, on Budget 2020, Bakhtiar said the ministry was happy with the allocation provided to it.

“We will use the allocation to upgrade several tourist destinations, improve and build new infrastructure,” he said.

In Budget 2020, the ministry was allocated RM1.1 billion for VMY2020. – Bernama, October 13, 2019.