KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 — Tourism Malaysia and Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) today inked a three-year Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) to co-promote tourism in Malaysia, starting next year.

Tourism Malaysia was represented by its Package Development director Mohd Roslan Abdullah while Perodua by its director support 1 Noor Zakiyah Hasan and witnessed by Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Ammar Abd Ghapar and Perodua’s President and chief executive office Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad.

Ammar said the collaboration signifies a step forward in both parties’ collective efforts to enhance the tourism industry as it is not just a crucial component of the economy but also a reflection of the beauty, diversity, and cultural heritage of the nation.

"This partnership will involve various initiatives and strategies that aim to promote Malaysia as a prime tourism destination which we are setting our sights on achieving through several key objectives such as Enhancing Accessibility, Sustainable Tourism, Cultural Exchange, Digital Marketing and Customer Experiences,” he added.

He said this in his speech at the signing ceremony of the MoC at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTic) here, today.

Ammar added that promoting tourism was not only done by Tourism Malaysia but should also be the responsibility of various parties or stakeholders through a Public-Private Partnership.

On the MoC, he said the partnership can leverage the experiential tourism which tourists are focused on experiencing the country by actively engaging with its history, culture, food and environment by driving Perodua vehicle products.

"There is a combination of the automobile industry with the tourism industry. We hope that this will be a good product later on. The planning is in the pipeline. There are a lot of things that will come off between this collaboration,” he added.

At the same time, Ammar shared that there are seasonal packages to be curated which includes rental of Perodua cars to promote domestic tourism as well as the Malaysia made product.

Meanwhile, Zainal Abidin said the collaboration offers benefits to both entities as it promotes Malaysia’s tourism and Perodua products to international travellers.

He said through the MoC, Perodua would be able to expand its new business model, specifically vehicle subscription, while at the same time get real-time feedback from foreign travellers on their opinion of Perodua. — Bernama