KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 (Bernama) -- Malaysia managed to attract 10 million foreign tourists and generated RM28.2 billion in tourism income in 2022 through the Tourism Recovery Framework (TRF) 2.0 the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan said the total exceeded the set target of 9.2 million foreign tourists with RM26.2 billion in receipts during the committee-level wind up session of the debate for the Supply Bill 2023 for the ministry.
He said TRF 2.0 had five main strategic pillars, supporting the recovery of tourism and cultural businesses, restoring tourism confidence, smooth international and regional travel, recreating tourism and cultural products and services to spur competitiveness, coordinating tourism with sustainability and inclusivity, and to strengthen recovery with long-term resilience and crises preparation.
On the suggested Malaysian Culture Week organisation, he said the event has been included in the ministry annual schedule and will be organised on a national level with a special allocation of RM5 million to ensure it will generate a higher impact compared to the previous year.
The Dewan Rakyat then approved RM837,175,600 in allocations for the ministry under the Budget 2023 at the committee level through a majority vote. The House had also passed RM673.5 million in allocations for the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (MOSTI).
In his wind up, Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup said the ministry would continue its International Innovation Hub programme with an allocation of RM18 million.
He said the allocation would be spent on developing techno-entrepreneurial facilities, including coaching and mentoring programmes, as well as marketing access and intellectual property development programmes.
“MOSTI is aiming that foreign companies, especially from the South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, will use the facilities and operate in the Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation (MRANTI),” he said.
-- BERNAMA
