M'sia down to 35 in world tourism ranking

Malaysia bumped down three rungs on a worldwide survey of 139 countries to spot number 35, according to ‘The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011' by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WER).

The last travel and tourism competitiveness report by WER was issued in 2009, in which Malaysia ranked 32.  

Malaysia benefits from its rich natural resources (ranked 22nd) and its cultural resources (ranked 33rd), all within a modest ranking of ‘21' for its favourable tourism policy rules and regulations, said WER in its report entitled ‘Beyond the Downturn’.

The country also benefits from excellent price competitiveness (ranked 3rd) in the travel and tourism industry, with low comparative hotel and fuel prices, low ticket taxes and airport charges, very competitive hotel prices, and a favorable tax regime.

It received a modest ranking of 52 for ICT infrastructure, air transport infrastructure (ranked 34) and ground transport infrastrucure (36), and was ranked a respectable 17 for ‘affinity for travel and tourism’ and 21 for affinity for travel and tourism.

For its prioritisation of travel and tourism, Malaysia was numbered 46.

“The price competitiveness pillar is topped by Brunei Darussalam, the Gambia, and Malaysia. All three countries benefit from low fuel costs.

“Brunei benefits from low ticket taxes and airport charges, and low taxation more generally, while the Gambia and Malaysia are  characterized by moderate-to-low taxes, low fuel prices, and highly competitive hotel prices.

“When choosing a destination, these countries benefit from the interest of many visitors in getting more for their money,” said the report.

Poor on environment, cleanliness, health

Such price competitiveness in terms of availability of cheap exotic food, however, may be double-edged sword as the standard of cleanliness left a bitter taste with - if not a negative impression upon - if not a bitter taste - upon foreign visitors to the country.

They could not prevent its weak areas from pulling Malaysia downwards.

It performed poorly in the areas of ‘environmental sustainability’ (ranked 64), ‘tourism infrastructure’ (74) and ‘health and hygiene’ (75), said WER, which noted Malaysia’s low availability of physicians.

Late last year, it was reported that Malaysia was losing out to other health tourism destinations such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Bangkok and elsewhere in Asia despite its developed infrastructure for medical treatment and well-trained doctors.

Unsurprisingly, the deteriorating perception of crimes in Malaysia also resulted in the country being given a lower ranking after it was ranked 83 for ‘safety and security’.

Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen has received flack ever since she took over the portfolio in July 2009, with opposition quarters criticising her for allegedly spending more time and money on touring countries overseas rather than attracting tourists to Malaysia.

It has not helped that senior officials within the Ministry of Tourism have been implicated in graft scandals.

Nevertheless, said WER, Malaysia has been among a surprising handful of “winning destination” countries that managed to weather the global financial and economic crisis of 2008-2009 in spite of the global contraction of the travel market.

These experienced some increasing demand from emerging outbound travel activity out of China. Others—such as Turkey, Bulgaria, and North African countries—gained throughout the crisis by attracting price-sensitive travelers from crisis-struck outbound regions in Western Europe, FER added.