ITC AND MATTA’S COLLABORATION TO ENCOURAGE MORE ISLAMIC TOURISM DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES IN MALAYSIA
ITC INDUSTRY NEWS
ITC/COMMS/04/IN/ITC-MATTA
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 17 SEPTEMBER 2022: Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) officially partnered with the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) today in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the government’s inbound tourism programmes. The collaboration aims to further strengthen and develop Malaysia’s Islamic Tourism attractions, services and hospitality through intelligence sharing and exchanges, research and development (R&D) on Muslim social, culture and heritage tourism products, in addition to training and capacity building activities.
“The strategic alliance with MATTA will not only focus on the development of physical Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality (MFTH) products in Malaysia, but also the quality of the Islamic Tourism workforce, to retain Malaysia’s position as an Islamic Tourism destination, favoured by Muslim tourists, worldwide”, said ITC Director-General, Dato’ Dr. Mohmed Razip Haji Hasan.
An agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) responsible in overseeing the country’s Islamic Tourism expansion, ITC regularly organises skill-building programmes and market research to allow more Malaysians to participate in the growing Islamic Tourism sector and to tap into the Muslim tourist market, that is forecasted to contribute to USD225 billion (RM987 billion) come 2028, as stated in the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2022 Report published by CrescentRating-MasterCard earlier this year.
He continued, “With MATTA’s huge membership of almost 3,000 members and their own pool of experts, we are confident that this partnership will help us reach out to more travel agencies and policy-makers, to get them to explore networking, marketing and promotional opportunities in the Islamic Tourism sector that will benefit them business-wise and eventually Malaysia as a tourist destination”.
Dato’ Dr. Mohmed Razip and Datuk Tan Kok Liang, MATTA President, both signed the MOU, at the 3rd World Islamic Tourism Conference, organised by ITC at the World Trade Centre (WTC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, attended by more than 300 delegates. Minister of MOTAC, YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Haji Shukri was there to witness the signing.
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Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) is an entity under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia tasked to develop the Islamic tourism segment for Malaysia. It advocates for Muslim-friendly tourism (MFT) by offering research and market intelligence, training, industry development consultation, Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality (MFTH) service standards and certification, and information exchange.
In 2021, ITC received two key awards, i.e. Strategic Business Alliance Award at The BrandLaureate World Halal Best Brand E-Branding Awards 2021, and Best Islamic Tourism Leadership Gold Award 2021 by Malaysia Tourism Council. These are recognition of ITC’s efforts and endeavours in formulating new strategies to meet the new normal of the business environment to ensure business continuity and sustainability, notwithstanding its role to develop and grow the Islamic tourism segment in Malaysia.
In 2022, Malaysia was again named top country in the world in the MFT sector by the State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) Report 2022 by DinarStandard in partnership with Salaam Standard and supported by Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism.
Malaysia also retained the top-ranked destination in the MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2022, a position it has defended since the launch of the Index in 2015.
These recognitions are an added motivation for ITC to continue to strengthen its efforts in being a prime mover and leading institution to ensure Malaysia is at the forefront of MFTH.
For further details, kindly contact:
Islamic Tourism Centre
(Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia)
Level 13, No. 2 Tower 1, Jalan P5/6,
Precinct 5, 62200 Putrajaya, Malaysia
Tel: 03-8891 7177 or via email itc@itc.gov.my
For media-related matters, contact the Corporate Communications team:
Anis, Manager, +6012 321 9137, anis@itc.gov.my
Nadhirah, Sr. Executive, +6019 356 0530, nadhirah@itc.gov.my
Ainaa Izzati, Asst. Executive, +6010 266 2535, ainaa@itc.gov.my
Follow ITC on these social platforms:
Facebook: Islamic Tourism Centre
Twitter: @itc_my
Instagram: @itc_my
YouTube: Islamic Tourism Centre
ABOUT MATTA
MATTA is the leading and largest national travel Association in Malaysia with close to 3000 members and growing local tour and travel agents as well as overseas affiliations. With a full time secretariat in Kuala Lumpur, its headquarters, MATTA has state chapters in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Johor, Penang, Perak, Kedah/Perlis, Sabah and Sarawak.
MATTA’s vision is to be the key driver of growth in the travel and tourism industry in Malaysia and to champion the tourism industry by creating valuable content of activities designed for members and the industry through promotions and overseas sales missions, training and education, and forging closer business ties with both regional and international markets.
