Tourism offices to be closed down
MALACCA: The role of attracting tourists is going to be handed over to the respective states.
The Tourism and Culture Ministry will close its own offices and bring its personnel back to the headquarters.
The move, to take immediate effect, is estimated to save the Government RM6mil a year.
He said the expenditure cutback is also complemented by the recent closure of Tourism Malaysia offices, overseas.
Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (pic), who announced this yesterday, said it was time to let all states manage tourism.
“We don’t want the functions of our offices and that of state tourism units to overlap. Both have the same objective of luring visitors.
“Each state also has state executive councillors in charge of tourism.
“So it’s right to leave tourism to them ... we need to give them more muscle,’’ he said after launching A’Famosa Freeport’s Chinese New Year and first year anniversary celebrations here yesterday.
Also present were Nazri’s deputy Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin and A’Famosa Group managing director Datuk Alex Lau.
Elaborating on the issue, Nazri said the respective state Economic Planning Units also focused on tourism development.
However, he said tourist information hubs in Terengganu and Johor, and at the Kuching and Kota Kinabalu international airports, would operate as usual.
Earlier this month, Nazri announced that Tourism Malaysia offices in New York, Perth, Stockholm and Johannesburg will be closed this year due to Malaysia Airlines stopping flights to these cities.
He said the closure of these offices would enable his ministry to focus on other offices in Europe, and plan for the opening of new offices in China and India.
Nazri said the ministry will focus on major European countries like Britain, Germany and France.
Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/01/24/tourism-offices-to-be-closed-down-task-of-luring-tourists-will-now-be-handed-over-to-respective-stat/#Qx9Mwr1XaMIBqh54.99
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