SIMUNJAN, June 20 — Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is in the midst of finalising the list of financial institutions that will be providing loans totalling RM1 billion under the Tourism Financing Scheme of the National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana).

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said BNM ould be announcing the details next month, including which small and medium-sized operators are eligible to receive the loan facility.

"The government has announced the RM1 billion allocation to finance transformational initiatives by the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism sector,” she told reporters after visiting several government project sites in the Batang Sadong parliamentary constituency here today.

The financing, she said, was among measures taken by the government to ensure the SMEs could continue operating and being competitive in the new normal era.

She said, at the moment, the ministry is outlining the post-MCO (movement control order) tourism and culture recovery plan, which would begin with reactivating domestic tourism activities.

Elaborating, Nancy said Tourism Malaysia would play the role of enhancing domestic tourism initiatives under the Visit Malaysia campaign, besides increasing public relations efforts and promotions via social media and cooperation with the corporate sector.

"We will upgrade the quality of tourism products and services by applying the new normal to increase the confidence of tourists to revisit and stay for a longer period, as well as shopping,” she said.

On international tourism, the ministry plans to encourage tourists arrivals from the short-haul market, especially Asean countries.

"However, the implementation will depend on the outcome of bilateral discussions with countries involved, with primary consideration given on the aspects of health, immigration, data tracking and continuous monitoring,” she said. — Bernama