LETTER | Promoting visits to Malaysia from Singapore

LETTER | It was reported that Norliza Md Zain, who has amassed 19 years of experience in Tourism Malaysia, had been appointed to serve as the director for Singapore from Oct 14.

Tourism Malaysia operates 30 offices overseas with the first in Singapore from 1971. Today, seven offices are operating in Southeast Asia, eight in East Asia, three in South Asia, two in West Asia, one in Central Asia, six in Europe, two in Oceania, and one in North America.

The report ended with “Tourism Malaysia Singapore is committed to restoring tourist traffic from Singapore to Malaysia to levels seen before the pandemic and welcomes innovative and creative ideas from the travel industry.”

If so, it will be business as usual, which is neither good nor bad, as the number of Singaporean tourist arrivals will continue to increase steadily but may not be enough to help achieve the 35.6 million total tourist arrivals targeted for Visit Malaysia 2026.

However, Singaporean excursionist arrivals for this year are surpassing 2019 levels but tourist arrivals are still short. In 2019, the total number of foreign tourists was 26,100,784, and foreign excursionists were 8,944,841, or 35 million foreign visitors for the year.

Lest we forget, large numbers of expatriates living or working in Singapore travel to Malaysia for business and holidays, and also many foreign visitors enter Malaysia as tourists or excursionists from Singapore.

Therefore, tourism promotions on the island should extend beyond Singaporeans to cover the large number of foreigners residing there or on holidays. The key to greater success is not more promotions, as Malaysia is well-known, but to facilitate their entry to Malaysia.

For example, the gridlock at the Causeway has deterred many potential visitors on both sides from crossing the Johor Strait. It would be wonderful if the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System could be operational in 2026, before its scheduled date of Jan 1, 2027.

Half of tourist arrivals

Over the past six decades, Singaporeans have contributed between 40 and 50 percent of all tourist arrivals, and this will continue. Apart from business, trade, culture, friendship, and numerous other links, many people on both sides of the Causeway are related to one another.

As of 2022, more than 1.13 million out of the 1.86 million Malaysians who have migrated overseas resided in Singapore. This year, 430,000 to 450,000 Malaysians are using Johor’s two land checkpoints with Singapore daily for work and school in the city-state.

As Singapore is a mature market, Tourism Malaysia has used almost every trick in the book over the past 54 years. It is no surprise if government officials and tourism industry personnel dish out more of the same, much like offering old wines in new bottles.

While those proven can be continued, it is also an opportune time to introduce something new by not only thinking outside the box but also away from normal tourism activities such as trade shows, travel marts, conferences and other gatherings catering only to tourism industry players.

Effective tourism promotions go beyond website development, digital marketing, search engine optimisation, content creation, identifying and listing attractions, creating cultural events and activities, and networking with industry players and influencers.

Most promotional videos are similar to documentaries. They show interesting sights with great narratives accompanied by promotional slogans or songs and stirring music. However, they would not draw much audience as many people are suffering from information overload.

An advertisement showing a jungle-clad mountain or secluded sandy beach appeals greatly to city folk looking for a getaway from the madding crowd but few would attempt to be there, either the destinations are out of reach or without the necessities or convenience to be comfortable.

In contrast, a touching movie goes deep into the soul, and the destination featured could be the top choice for the coming holidays, if not the bucket list.

‘Homebound’

One good example is an 18 minutes 51 seconds short film “Homebound” uploaded on YouTube four years ago and has 2.8 million views.

The introduction merely states “Alan arrives at a rural highlands village in search of a mysterious location, encountering Ling who agrees to help him. However, as the day progresses, they begin to learn about each other and the life-changing significance behind Alan’s journey.”

The story is about a young man who did not visit his mother, a teacher at Cameron Highlands, despite her repeated requests, as he was too busy carving out a career for himself in Singapore. Sadly, he did so only after her passing and the trip was to fulfil her last request.

The story is highly relatable, especially for those who have been too busy with their careers, only to regret it later. The way the story unfolds makes it a great film and a tear-jerker for many. To provide more details would be a spoiler for those who could easily watch it online.

Tourism Malaysia could organise screenings in function rooms to be followed by contests to pick winners who can best describe their poignant feelings after watching the film, and win free tours to Cameron Highlands sponsored by tour operators offering tour packages to the destination.

Various spots shown in the film can be featured in treasure hunts and interesting local personalities can also be roped in to make such visits more exciting and meaningful.

It is a form of experiential tourism by reliving the experience felt while watching a great film in real life.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.