dato zainuddin tourism malaysia

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Tourism Malaysia names new DG

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, 20 September 2021: Tourism Malaysia’s Board confirmed last week the appointment of Datuk Zainuddin Abdul Wahab as the new director-general of Tourism Malaysia.

Malaysian Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri approved the appointment of Datuk Zainuddin to replace Zulkifly Md Said, who retired as Tourism Malaysia’s DG on 13 September 2021.

Zainuddin was previously the senior managing director of tourism Malaysia and concurrently held the post of deputy director-general (Planning).

He has served for 37 years in the civil service, previously held the position of director-general of the Islamic Tourism Center (ITC) before being appointed director of the production division and senior director of the strategic planning division at Tourism Malaysia.

In the statement, the board said the priority for the incoming director-general was to steer national recovery efforts to put the tourism industry back on track in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and drive changes to activate the digitisation of tourism in line with the National Tourism Policy 2020-2030.

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Industry veteran appointed new Tourism Malaysia chief

Tourism Malaysia has appointed Zainuddin Abdul Wahab as the new director-general, effective September 13. He replaces Zulkifly Md Said who has retired.

Zainuddin was previously the senior director of management of Tourism Malaysia and also assumed the duties of deputy director-general (planning).

No stranger to the civil service, he was the director general of the Islamic Tourism Center before being appointed director of the Production Division and senior director of the Strategic Planning Division at Tourism Malaysia.

In his new role, Zainuddin will continue to assist in the recovery efforts of the tourism industry alongside driving progress towards the digitalisation of the National Tourism Policy, said Tourism Malaysia in a press statement.

Uzaidi Udanis, president of the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association, described Zainuddin as a dedicated and experienced person who knew the market well.

“I am confident he is the right person to help the tourism industry recover. I hope he will also have regular interactions with the industry to find best solutions for the recovery of the tourism sector,” Uzaidi said.

The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents secretary-general, Nigel Wong, commented: “We hope that Tourism Malaysia under the leadership of Zainuddin will look at fresh and innovative ways to promote Malaysia and form more intimate engagement with industry stakeholders – smart public-private relationships like these are the key to quicker tourism recovery.”

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Aviation interview with dato’ zainuddin abdul wahab.

Director General of Tourism Malaysia

With his top priority in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic being to steer the tourism industry to be back on track and at the same time drive digitalisation changes in line with the National Tourism Policy 2020-2030, Dato’ Zainuddin, 58, who hails from Selangor has a tall order to fulfill. Assisted by his team, his vast 37 years of experience in the civil service spearheading various divisions within Tourism Malaysia ranging from strategic planning, management to production, and the Islamic Tourism Centre, will stand him in good stead following his appointment on September 13 to help the tourism industry recover and reset.

How do you plan to reset the severely impacted tourism industry which is now on the path of recovery? To keep our tourism industry on the right path towards recovery, we will continue to regain the tourists’ confidence by highlighting Malaysia as a safe holiday destination through the facts and figures of our current Covid-19 vaccination rate, where to date more than 95% of our adult population have completed their vaccination while over 80% of our adolescents have been fully vaccinated.

Simultaneously, we shall continue to strengthen the cooperation between government agencies and industry players in improving product quality and availability besides implementing promotional programmes through the digital platform to reach both the domestic and international markets.

Tell us more about Tourism Malaysia’s digitalisation plans which are expected to help realise the National Tourism Policy 2020-2030 objectives. Over the past two years, Tourism Malaysia has amped up the use of social media and online platforms when the pandemic hit us. We will continue to leverage their effectiveness through marketing, dissemination of information and the use of local and international media, well-known brands, famous celebrities and influencers or key opinion leaders.

Soon, we hope to not only provide a platform for promotional purposes but also share promotional materials that will be easily accessible to our industry players through a user-friendly database. Earlier this year, we launched our Interactive Digital Brochures that are accessible to the public via our Tourism Malaysia’s website, www.malaysia.travel

What are your new targets for 2022 in terms of market segment, tourist arrivals and revenue? Our focus is on quality rather than quantity. Facilitating the recovery of the tourism industry, we need to consider many factors, especially since it involves the health and safety of everyone. In terms of market segment, we are looking to restart tourism with our neighbouring countries in the ASEAN region. Our next target would be with the Asian, Middle Eastern and traditional European markets, including the United Kingdom.

By 2025, we aim to reach 24.3 million international tourist arrivals with a target revenue of RM73 billion from foreign tourists and RM100 billion from domestic tourists.

Kindly share Tourism Malaysia’s 40th participation at the recent hybrid World Travel Market (WTM) in London. Malaysia joined this year’s WTM physically in ExCel London from 1-3 November and was connected virtually from 8-9 November via WTM London Virtual platform with other buyers and attendees. Tourism Malaysia, together with the Pahang state and local industry players represented the country.

We were excited to be reconnected with our partners and forged many new relationships at WTM, which remains an important platform for us where we highlighted Langkawi’s reopening to the international market on November 15, where fully-vaccinated tourists can visit this legendary island without any quarantine requirements.

Apart from providing the latest information on the prerequisites under the new norms of travelling to Malaysia, we also promoted our new and upcoming tourist attractions to the UK and European markets.

Please update us on the Langkawi travel bubble and the reopening of other domestic destinations to both the local and international markets. We have seen tremendous response through the reopening of domestic tourism with Langkawi’s pilot travel bubble, which was reopened to fully-vaccinated domestic tourists on September 16 this year. As of October 31, the island has welcomed 190,855 tourists.

Following the resumption of interstate travel within Malaysia on October 11, many of our locals benefitted from the various discounts, rebates and e-vouchers offered by the participating domestic airlines and hotels. We will continue to focus on Langkawi’s pilot project before reopening other local destinations to international tourists.

The government’s recent announcement of a Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) with our neighbour Singapore starting November 29 and its target to reopen our borders to international tourists by January 1, 2022 are good news for the industry, including the aviation sector.

Tourism Malaysia has been collaborating with Malaysia Airports in the past to promote the industry. What can we expect in 2022? Tourism Malaysia’s collaboration with Malaysia Airports through the Joint International Tourism Development Program (JITDP) in 2018 and 2019 was unfortunately put on hold in 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

The JITDP witnessed partnership with both domestic and international airlines, which came under the supervision of Tourism Malaysia offices abroad. Among the domestic airlines we worked with were Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Malindo Air. Meanwhile, the international carriers included Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, China Airlines, Mahan Air, China Southern Airlines, Scoot Air, Air Busan, Pakistan International Airlines and Turkish Airlines.

With the reopening of our international borders, we look forward to work with Malaysia Airports again and not forgetting the airlines to create more connectivity next year.

What is your wish list for 2022? Tourism Malaysia will be celebrating its golden jubilee or 50th anniversary next year. Spearheading Tourism Malaysia’s efforts towards the rebound of our tourism industry with close collaboration with our industry players, I hope to meet the goals of our national recovery plan and see tourism regain its former stature before the pandemic.

On a personal note, how do you unwind and foodwise, what do you relish? I love travelling and try to travel leisurely whenever I can with a free and easy schedule. Occasionally, I enjoy golfing or just relaxing with a good cup of black coffee. I cannot refrain from our delicious fried ayam kampung. As for international cuisine, I am a fan of Japanese cuisine, especially sushi.

Tiong welcomes new DG for Tourism Malaysia

Ammar has served in Tourism Malaysia since June 23, 1998. — Photo from Tourism Malaysia

BINTULU (April 15): Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing welcomes the appointment of Datuk Dr Ammar Abdul Ghapar as the new director-general of the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board (Tourism Malaysia).

It is informed that Ammar is replacing Datuk Zainuddin Abdul Wahab, who has just retired.

According to Tiong, who is Bintulu MP, Ammar has served in Tourism Malaysia since June 23, 1998.

Ammar’s previous position was senior director for international promotion division (Americas/Europe/Oceania).

“I am confident that his extensive experience will enable him to help promote the nation’s tourism sector, as well as attract more visitors from abroad to travel to our country,” said the minister.

Adding on, Tiong said with many countries having reopened their borders, the skills and experience possessed by Ammar should be able to mobilise Tourism Malaysia towards attracting more tourists to come to Malaysia, as well as to lead the Visit Malaysia Year 2025 campaign towards success.

“I, and all the people in the ministry, would like to thank Datuk Zainuddin for all his contributions and services during his tenure in Tourism Malaysia,” said Tiong.

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Tourism Malaysia embraces the modern workplace with support from Microsoft

Oct 17, 2022  |   Microsoft Malaysia

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KUALA LUMPUR, 17 October 2022 – Tourism Malaysia , the agency responsible for promoting Malaysia both domestically and internationally, has teamed up with Microsoft Malaysia to boost productivity and improve team collaboration while accelerating its digital transformation journey by leveraging Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure.

With 6 regional offices, 13 tourist information centres, 30 overseas offices, and 6 marketing representatives across the world, consistency in operational performance and delivery are crucial for Tourism Malaysia’s success. Tourism Malaysia needed not only a unifying platform that eases collaboration between its many teams across different markets, but also one that is highly secure and offers a smooth user experience.

With the integration of Microsoft 365 across all its domestic and overseas offices, Tourism Malaysia’s global workforce can better coordinate and optimize inter-departmental collaboration, ensuring all data is secure and protected by Microsoft’s security capabilities.

Utilising tools like Microsoft Teams, Microsoft SharePoint, and Microsoft Exchange, Tourism Malaysia employees have access to a singular platform that enables real-time collaboration even amongst colleagues situated at opposite ends of the world. By leveraging cloud features, employees can also share files of all types and sizes without having to worry about email disruptions and overloaded servers.

“We are excited for new opportunities ahead now that Malaysia has reopened its borders. Following a new strategic marketing plan, including a digital strategy, we are confident that Malaysia’s tourism industry will bounce back and return even stronger. Together with Microsoft Malaysia, we hope to become a leading government agency that embraces digital technologies to better serve our industry partners and potential tourists” YBhg. Dato Hj Zainuddin Abdul Wahab, Director General of Tourism Malaysia

The experience inspired Tourism Malaysia to take the collaboration with Microsoft Malaysia one step forward – hosting its ‘ Pakej Cuti Penjawat Awam ’ campaign, powered by Microsoft Azure. The campaign targeted civil servants to encourage them to travel domestically by offering attractive tour packages.

This was not the only initiative undertaken by Tourism Malaysia with the support of Microsoft Malaysia. When the pandemic happened, the global agency had to digitize its tourism activities and plans – and it had to do this fast. As part of its ‘ Menemui Semula ’ campaign, Tourism Malaysia coordinated various programs via digital platforms to support its partners, vendors, and agencies in weathering the pandemic.

Through the integration of Microsoft Power BI in measuring the performance of its multiple programs, Tourism Malaysia was able to track their businesses – even across borders – more accurately and efficiently, aligning these findings with domestic business operations, further enabling them to not only optimize spendings but also respond to potential issues promptly.

“Tourism Malaysia plays an important role in driving growth for the nation’s economy. We are proud to support their purpose through Microsoft’s trusted technologies. We have heard from Tourism Malaysia on their aspirations to revive the tourism sector and it is inspiring to see how they leverage digital tools to bring them closer to this goal” Sheikh Manzoor, General Manager of Public Sector Group, Microsoft Malaysia

“We are excited to explore different ways to help communities and businesses from both the public and private sectors, to achieve more with technology and realise the Government of Malaysia’s MyDIGITAL aspirations as well as bring to life Microsoft’s Bersama Malaysia commitment ,” concluded Sheikh.

Learn more about Tourism Malaysia’s digital transformation journey with Microsoft here:

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TOURISM MALAYSIA EMBRACES THE MODERN WORKPLACE WITH SUPPORT FROM MICROSOFT

KUALA LUMPUR, 17 Oktober 2022 – Tourism Malaysia , the agency responsible for promoting Malaysia both domestically and internationally, has teamed up with Microsoft Malaysia to boost productivity and improve team collaboration while accelerating its digital transformation journey by leveraging Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure.

With 6 regional offices, 13 tourist information centres, 30 overseas offices, and 6 marketing representatives across the world, consistency in operational performance and delivery are crucial for Tourism Malaysia’s success. Tourism Malaysia needed not only a unifying platform that eases collaboration between its many teams across different markets, but also one that is highly secure and offers a smooth user experience.

With the integration of Microsoft 365 across all its domestic and overseas offices, Tourism Malaysia’s global workforce can better coordinate and optimise inter-departmental collaboration, ensuring all data is secure and protected by Microsoft’s security capabilities.

Utilising tools like Microsoft Teams, Microsoft SharePoint, and Microsoft Exchange, Tourism Malaysia employees have access to a singular platform that enables real-time collaboration even amongst colleagues situated at opposite ends of the world. By leveraging cloud features, employees can also share files of all types and sizes without having to worry about email disruptions and overloaded servers.

YBhg. Dato Hj Zainuddin Abdul Wahab, Director General of Tourism Malaysia said, “We are excited for new opportunities ahead now that Malaysia has reopened its borders. Following a new strategic marketing plan, including a digital strategy, we are confident that Malaysia’s tourism industry will bounce back and return even stronger. Together with Microsoft Malaysia, we hope to become a leading government agency that embraces digital technologies to better serve our industry partners and potential tourists.”

The experience inspired Tourism Malaysia to take the collaboration with Microsoft Malaysia one step forward – hosting its ‘ Pakej Cuti Penjawat Awam ’ campaign, powered by Microsoft Azure. The campaign targeted civil servants to encourage them to travel domestically by offering attractive tour packages.

This was not the only initiative undertaken by Tourism Malaysia with the support of Microsoft Malaysia. When the pandemic happened, the global agency had to digitise its tourism activities and plans – and it had to do this fast. As part of its ‘ Menemui Semula ’ campaign, Tourism Malaysia coordinated various programs via digital platforms to support its partners, vendors, and agencies in weathering the pandemic.

Through the integration of Microsoft Power BI in measuring the performance of its multiple programs, Tourism Malaysia was able to track their businesses – even across borders – more accurately and efficiently, aligning these findings with domestic business operations, further enabling them to not only optimise spendings but also respond to potential issues promptly.

Microsoft Malaysia’s General Manager of Public Sector Group, Sheikh Manzoor shared, “Tourism Malaysia plays an important role in driving growth for the nation’s economy. We are proud to support their purpose through Microsoft’s trusted technologies. We have heard from Tourism Malaysia on their aspirations to revive the tourism sector and it is inspiring to see how they leverage digital tools to bring them closer to this goal,”

“We are excited to explore different ways to help communities and businesses from both the public and private sectors, to achieve more with technology and realise the Government of Malaysia’s MyDIGITAL aspirations as well as bring to life Microsoft’s Bersama Malaysia commitment ,” concluded Sheikh.

Learn more about Tourism Malaysia’s digital transformation journey with Microsoft here:

Tourism Malaysia with Microsoft - Reviving Malaysia's tourism sector through Digital Transformation

About Tourism Malaysia

Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, also known as Tourism Malaysia, is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia. It focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia as a preferred tourism destination. Since its inception, it has emerged as a major player in the international tourism scene. For more information, visit Tourism Malaysia’s social media accounts on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , YouTube , and TikTok .

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

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‘Get ready to provide the best tourism services’

Monday, 13 Jun 2022

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PETALING JAYA: Tourism industry players must beef up preparations to fully anticipate the expectations of incoming tourists, says Datuk Zainuddin Abdul Wahab ( pic ).

The Tourism Malaysia director-general said the sector was not the only one facing a lack of manpower.

“We hope that in an effort to promote tourism within and outside the country, industry players must be prepared to provide the best services on par with those before the pandemic,” he said.

He was commenting on grouses by hoteliers and the hospitality industry over the lack of workers.

Zainudin said the dissatisfaction from tourists, especially during this crucial period when the industry was on the road to recovery, could prove to be a stumbling block.

“It will affect a tourist’s interest to come back to Malaysia,” he said, adding that Malaysia must work compete with neighbouring countries to bring back tourists.

To resolve the manpower issue, Malaysia Association of Hotels national vice-president Khoo Boo Lim said many hotels now offered casual work to hospitality students.

“It used to be RM8 an hour. Now, we are offering RM10 to RM15 an hour,” he said.

However, for Association of Tourism Attractions Penang chairman Ch’ng Huck Theng, offering more money is not the chief solution.

“A happy workforce needs a sense of belonging, work-life balance and job satisfaction. Tourism players must have gatherings involving family members, boyfriends or girlfriends for their employees.

“People have changed in the last two years. They know the value of ‘me-time’ now.

“If you are in the tourism or services industry, you must accept this or you will never understand why you don’t have a steady workforce,” Ch’ng warned.

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Indonesia, Johor to boost trade, tourism

J OHOR BARU: Indonesia hopes to enhance economic, trade and tourism programmes with Malaysia, particularly Johor, with the introduction of a “special privilege scheme”, which offers discounts to residents in bordering regions.

The Indonesian Consul-General in Johor Baru Sigit Suryantoro Widiyanto said that this would involve at least 10 Indonesian districts in the Riau Islands, namely Batam, Bengkalis and Tanjung Pinang.

“This means Malaysians with 01 identity cards, which identify them as Johoreans, can enjoy some discounts on hotel stays or food in these Indonesian districts.

“Similarly, Indonesians from these 10 districts will enjoy discounts when they visit Johor,” he told The Star during a Hari Raya gathering for about 300 guests at the consulate office here yesterday.

The Johor government, according to Sigit, is open to the move and has already held several discussions about the scheme.

“We are already planning a working visit for Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi to the Riau Islands.

“We hope that this scheme will further boost trade and tourism between border states. This is the first time such a move has been mooted by Indonesia with its neighbour,” he said.

Asked about the progress of the plans to introduce a ferry route for cargo trucks to boost trade between Batam and Johor, Sigit said discussions were progressing well for creating a route for the roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) ferry services.

“We need to look into the related regulations and other technicalities of both countries.

“So far, Johor has been positive about the idea,” he added.

The points previously proposed were Batam’s Batu Ampar Port and Johor’s Tanjung Belungkor Ferry Terminal in Kota Tinggi.

The aim is to fit up to 70 trucks into a RoRo ferry each way.

On issues affecting Indonesians in Malaysia, Sigit said the consulate office in Johor Baru was looking after the welfare of more than 109,000 Indonesian workers in Johor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan and Pahang.

“We always urge our citizens to work legally and go through the proper channel when seeking jobs in Malaysia.

“Among the main problems Indonesians face are misuse of visas, especially overstaying, and working without a valid work permit or having proper documents,” he said, adding that these issues could cause the workers to work without getting proper wages, and they could easily be abused or discriminated against.

Onn Hafiz, state officials and guests who visited the open house were treated to local Indonesian delicacies and music.