Special Committee Set Up Promote Malaysia In Hong Kong

The Tourism Ministry has set up a special committee to further promote Malaysia in Hong Kong.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said one of the roles of the committee was to disseminate information to every officer in Malaysia's consulate in the special administrative territory on ongoing programmes held by the Tourism Ministry.

She said the committee would also be responsible for taking action on issues related to tourism, such as complaints on getting visas.

She also said the committee would assist Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) in identifying potential investment areas and carry out consumer awareness programmes to train frontliners in order to give better service to Hong Kong tourists.

"After having a dialogue with major Hong Kong tour operators last night, it has been learnt that competition is very keen from Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Therefore, we have to find every opportunity to promote Malaysian tourism, and that's the reason for the setting up of this committee," Ng said after a meeting with officers of Tourism Malaysia for Hong Kong, and the Consulate General of Malaysia here on Wednesday.

She added that the committee would be headed by the Consul-General of Malaysia in Hong Kong, Cheong Loon Lai, while Zaliha Zainuddin, who is Tourism Malaysia director in Hong Kong, would be the secretary of the committee.

Meanwhile, during the dialogue, Hong Kong tour operators pointed out that Hong Kong tourists mainly faced transportation problems when they were travelling in Malaysia, especially Malaysian taxi drivers not charging according to the meter and difficulty getting taxis when it rains and during rush hour.

Ng said she regretted this as it was a never ending complaint and that she would bring it up with Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyddin Yassin at the next cabinet meeting so that a permanent solution could be found.

Regarding the issue of Hong Kong filmmakers facing bureaucracy when applying for permits to do shooting in Malaysia, Ng said the Tourism Ministry would study the possibility of establishing a "One Stop Assistance Centre" to facilitate their applications.

She said the film industry had contributed in promoting Malaysia, for instance, the Hong Kong movie "More More Tea Inn" had successfully made Redang Island become a famous tourist attraction.

Source : Bernama
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