KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — The new version of the Malaysia Tourism Quality Assurance (MyTQA) programme will give industry players more opportunities to apply for recognition under the initiative and, thus, go on to raise the quality level of services provided.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the new version supported the aim of branding Malaysia as the main tourism destination through the development of products and packages according to its own mould.
She said MyTQA provided a reference for the public to choose the best tourism product for themselves since tourism products that received MyTQA recognition are more convincing to tourists.
“The aspect of quality in terms of service delivery will encourage tourists to opt to stay longer, visit more places and spend more.
“Tourists are willing to pay more if the product or service provided is of high quality and gives them a unique experience,” she said at the launching of the new version of the MyTQA here today.
Nancy said that under the new version of the programme, the categories under MyTQA had been restructured from 13 to seven, based on segments identified under the National Tourism Policy (DPN) 2020-2030.
The seven new categories are Nature, Adventure and Eco Tourism; Sports and Recreational Tourism; Shopping and Lifestyle Tourism; Aqua and Marine Tourism; Culture and Heritage Tourism; Man-Made Tourism; and Business Tourism.
She said that, so far, a total of 61 tourism products from various categories nationwide had received MyTQA recognition and the amount will increase based on the 28 new and re-evaluation applications received by the ministry for this year.
In addition to the application to restructure the categories, the new version of the MyTQA also introduces the classification of marks through platinum, gold and silver ratings, which will attract more tourism product owners to apply for recognition under the programme.
The MyTQA programme, which was introduced in 2014, gave recognition to tourism products and emphasis to tourism industry players to prioritise service quality and the need to raise the quality of Malaysia’s tourism product facilities. — Bernama
