Sun, sea and sand aganist tsunamis and Singapore. Minister of Tourism Datuk Dr Leo Michael Toyad tells Maria J. Dass that Malaysia has a lot to offer tourists, and will not be ruffled by natural disasters and a little competition.

What does the setting up of the cabinet committee on tourism mean to the industry?
The committee brings together all the ministries which are involved in tourism promotion and it will be chaired by the deputy prime minister and myself as a member. Others in the committee are Housing and Local Government, Transport, Youth and Sports, Home and Culture Arts and Heritage Ministries.

This committee will solve the problems we face when programmes involve the participation of multiple agencies. It will also involve specific bodies like Matrade, which is involved in international promotions and exhibitions.

It (the committee) will boost the tourism industry because we can solve so many problems which involve multiple agencies like the Malaysia International Convention and Exhibition Centre (MICE) programme which involves facilities for huge conventions and meetings. And of course licensing of premises and all that come under the purview of the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

Sports events are also one of our major tourism attractions, and for culture and arts, the Culture, the Arts and Heritage Ministry will take care of the sites involved.

The Education and Health Ministries will come up with health and education tourism products and from there we will take over to market the products.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said the committee would help rebrand Malaysia to make it more attractive to foreign tourists. What's wrong with the current branding?
Malaysia has been many things: Truly Asia, A Safe Destination, Natural Holidays. However, now we are trying to reach one branding which totals up what Malaysia has to offer in terms of tourism, business, foreign investments and also the environment for people who want to make Malaysia their second home, to mention a few.

So we hope to come up with one branding which will give an insight to the many aspects that Malaysia has to offer the world - not just tourism but also business facilities, an environment which is politically stable with a stable economy and strong infrastructure, facilities, transport system, including ports and airports.

What sort of professional help is being engaged to brand Malaysia?
The ministry is working with the European Commission and the French Tourism Ministry where we will be organising satellite accounting (tourism industry data compilation) through which we will be able to gauge the efficiency of our promotions and the feasibility of our tourist attractions, as well as the attractiveness of each product.

This will give us a base to monitor the marketability of the different products we have. Because we will not try to upkeep a product that does not sell ... we will avoid that product so that there will be more cost efficiency in the management of our industry. This (satellite account) will also assist the industry to get some feedback from us on whether it needs to pull up its socks, and which sectors need to be improved.

In terms of promotion, we have market segmentations which delineate the tourists according to culture, background, country of origin and taste - be it adventure, eco-tourism, bio-tourism, homestay, long-house stay, cultural experience, shopping, etc. So by segmentalising the market we will promote more the products they prefer. We started doing this last year.

Why tie up with the French Tourism Ministry and the European Commission?
Because they are the ones who started satellite accounting and they have the largest tourist population in the world. They have 75 million tourists visiting them every year - and these are not tourists who visit Paris alone. These tourists also visit other parts of France. The country is multi-cultural, multi-tiered and has many attractions - mountains, ski resorts, wines, cuisines, arts, shopping and fashion. We saw how they (the French) helped their tourist industry.

And in Germany, I saw how the private sector moved the industry. This is what we also want to see (back home) ... with the private sector moving the industry and we will play more of a supporting role.

How involved is the private sector in the industry?
Well, they are trying ...  and I think they could do better. They are very supportive of the ministry of course ... we are still very young.

What are our current strategies in attracting new tourists and maintaining repeat visitors?
There are regional promotions in our tourism offices ... they are more like on-the-ground promotions, which we hope will penetrate the relevant local markets, rather than a high global kind of thing.

So the agencies involved will provide more attractive tourism packages according to the trend of the specific (target) market. We will use the local media and regional networks (in the country of origin) to promote our products. More empowerment will be given to our tourism offices abroad to come up with tourism packages and market them to the target groups.

This has not been done before.

We are also trying to promote Malaysia as an upmarket destination by providing, for example, upmarket kind of restaurants. The cabinet has also directed the ministry to increase the number of ways to attract tourists, including making Malaysia an upmarket shopping destination by improving (the quality) our goods and services.

We are also stepping up our fashion activities to create a fashion industry with emphasis on the Eastern-Oriental types of design and material, where the songket and the batik will be presented universally.

What new tools are used to market tourism and market the country to tourists? 
We had the Tourism Malaysia homepage upgraded and launched on May 31, featuring the new image of the Ministry of Tourism. We are working on an e-portal which we hope to launch by the end of this year.

The e-portal will coordinate hotel, airline and other tourism services, including bookings ... similar to those offered by the e-portals of the Australian and New Zealand tourism offices. So you can make your booking via the internet. It will include all service providers who want to be involved.

The Malaysian Association of Hotels said the rising operational costs due to fuel price hikes leaves them with no choice but to increase room rates and to quote in US dollars for foreign tourists. Will this affect the industry?
No, because we still have the best rates in the world and our hoteliers will know what to do. You see, besides the prices, we have other offerings ... in Malaysia we never promote ourselves as a cheap destination, we present ourselves as a destination which is value-for-money.

If you can afford to go sailing, we have that, but if you just want to go paddling in a boat, we have (that too). We have outlets that offer fine dining and, at the same time, we have simple al-fresco outlets.

In Malaysia, we provide safety, peace, stability and a good environment for your holiday. You want adventure or you just want to relax ... we have. If you just want a secluded holiday, we have that too, like Pangkor Laut, Tanjung Jara, Club Med, Tioman, Camerons ... they're all exclusive places where you can relax and get away from city life. Also in Langkawi, we have the Datai Resorts, the Berjaya Resorts and many others.

Anyone can go for a holiday there ... you just have to save for about six to seven months. You know most of our European  visitors save their money over several months (for their trips) but when they come to Malaysia, they really come to enjoy.

What are the new strategies to retain repeat visitors?
The service, the value-for-money packages and the people ... friendly taxi drivers, friendly hoteliers, friendly retailers and good services ... people will come ... they will stay longer. This is where the role of the other five ministries will come in.

We are also developing loyalty programmes. Private companies like Genting have a World Card ... we call it cross marketing, and now we are working with several other companies to develop the kind of loyalty programme where visitors enjoy privileges whenever they visit Malaysia.

For golfing, we will be introducing the Malaysia Golfing Pass, whereby with a five-year membership fee, the holder can come back to Malaysia at anytime of the year. You just pay your own airfare, that's all. The rest is already paid for - the facilities, accommodation and green fees are all paid for with the membership. Members can fly in for any amount of days in a year. For domestic tourism, we have special deals via cards like Ezyholidays and Bonuslink to encourage domestic vacationing.

Are we maintaining the ideas of organising familiarisation tours, Citrawarna and shopping carnivals?
We will be having what will be known as Festivals of Malaysia, which includes cultural festivals - which are part and parcel of attracting tourists - religious festivals, song and dance festivals.

What was previously known as the Citrawarna will now be known as Malaysia Festival, which will include a blend of not only Malaysian culture, but also global cultures. It will be an international event featuring international presentations.

Since you took over, you have travelled to many countries. How is the reception in those countries and is there a need for more market penetration and promotion?
I think we need to step up promotion in most countries - Japan, (South) Korea, United Kingdom, Germany, France ... it's just a matter of information and developing a package which is of interest to them.

That is one of the weaknesses we see, but once we get it going I'm sure the tourist arrivals will increase.

Malaysia is known as a destination but we must gauge what they want and tell them what they get - it's like telling them come to one's restaurant but not giving them the menu. So if I feel like eating roti canai - I don't know if your restaurant serves it or not, so I will instead choose to go to a restaurant where I know I will get what I want. More market surveys will be done by the ministry, coupled with local promotion in each country where we have tourism offices.

What is the current tourism target market?
Middle East and European market.

Singapore has upped the promotion of its tourism products - among them the upcoming casino-cum-resort. How does this competition affect Malaysia?
Malaysia is not a gambling market. We have never been selling Malaysia as a casino. Malaysia is a leisure holiday (destination), where there is peace and stability and where people can enjoy the natural environment and shopping experience - value for money. Not all tourists are gamblers.

We are also expanding, and developing a new area - the marine tourism, which will be coordinated within the Asean region.

We will be marketing Asean together with Malaysia as a new playground. The current playground is the Mediterranean and the Caribbean and now we are opening up an Asean playground. The main facilities have to be put in place like hotels, vessel registration facilitation etc.

We will also provide facilities required for sailing. Sailing also involves ground attractions like mountains and scenery, which are not available in the Caribbean.

In terms of preserving the environment, the marina project in Tioman for example was met with fierce opposition. How do we ensure development does not damage the country's natural attractions like forests and coral reefs which are what most tourist are here to see?
We still prioritise our environment because that's the attraction. We are not going to destroy that attraction. The prime minister has directed a campaign that island resorts and all that should be maintained as naturally as possible with minimal disturbance to the eco-system, and the natural or pristine surroundings. That is why I have suspended a lot of construction and jetty projects in most of the islands.

We have done a study of 50 islands to determine the infrastructure needed, like water and power supply.

Then we will decide what type of water or power supply is viable. We even have criteria on whether to allow any motorised activities on these islands, like motorcycles and motorcars or just battery-operated or solar-powered buggies and such.

We are looking at all this and have taken steps to maintain especially our islands.

Together with the (Natural Resources and) Environment Ministry, we are looking into all this, because this (environmental destruction) is being done behind our backs, so we are very serious about maintaining the environment. And I think we have one of the best forestry policies in the world, which is acknowledged by the international timber council.

What about the maintenance of historical sites?
This comes under the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry, but in terms of facilities we have helped by giving some money to upgrade as well refurbish tourist sites which have not been well maintained by the people concerned. These include public facilities, amenities like those in our National parks.

How is the development of Sabah and Sarawak as tourist attractions coming along?
Sabah and Sarawak are natural tourist attractions in terms of eco-tourism and nature tourism ... and the first coordinating centre for nature tourism is in Sabah.

Reports of rampant snatch theft incidents in the tourist belt of Kuala Lumpur have caused concern among tourist from various countries, including the Middle East. Has the situation improved?
Besides education and information, the local authorities have also put in place monitoring systems like CCTV cameras around the affected areas.

We are also developing cashless facilities like prepaid or debit cards for tourists, so that they do not have to carry too much cash with them. This will also ensure that tourists will shop in places where they are less likely to be cheated and this is a way we can benchmark the places which tourists can visit. It is also a means for us to impose a certain standard in our tourism services.

In terms of figures, has there been an increase in tourist arrivals this year? Did the tsunami and aftershocks of the Sumatran earthquake affect the numbers?
No, the tsunami and aftershocks did not reduce the number of arrivals. In fact, the number of arrivals for the first quarter of this year is the highest we have ever achieved.

How do you, as a politician from East Malaysia, view the representation of East Malaysia in the Parliament?
Our representation in the country ... so far, as as you know, we are very happy that we have decided to join the peninsula to form Malaysia. I think so far we are happy with our role in contributing to the nation itself, as well as with the opportunity given to Sabah and Sarawak to develop. And I think the (federal) leadership has been very understanding in terms of where our starting point is, in terms of development and opportunities. You may say that Sabah and Sarawak have never regretted joining Malaysia.

Is there a lot more to be done in East Malaysia in terms of development?
You see, so far the central government has been able to distribute fairly to the state governments a fair share according to their capacity. If the state has the capacity to develop faster, they are given the opportunity to develop. So it's all in terms of capacity and capability. Of course, there are many areas that are still lacking, but the process of development is on-going. I think the election results are the best indicator ... there has always been very strong support for the federal government.

What are the areas lacking in development?
Infrastructure, accessibility and water supply, but we have made progress over the years.

Is there a need for bigger East Malaysian representation in the Parliament?
I think so far the representation is there. Of course, the demand and expectations of a developing nation evolves as we go (along). Of course, the new generation will look at things differently and they will have high expectations because there is no such thing as enough or not enough ... but again you have to see the end results ... whether you are achieving or under-achieving ... but so far I feel the representation is able to work.