By Doreen Ling
KUCHING, Sept 28: Malaysia’s ranking in the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI), which fell from 27th in 2019 to 35th in 2024, is a call for reform to address issues such as overtourism, uneven local development, and inadequate infrastructure.
According to the Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Travel, Dato Seri Tiong King Sing, this also serves as a reminder to face these issues head-on, as well as to adopt effective measures to protect ecosystems, disperse tourist flows, ease congestion, and ensure that tourism revenue truly benefits local communities.
He said this in a Facebook post following his attendance at the World Tourism Conference Malaysia 2025 in Melaka today.
Speaking at the conference, he expressed hope that it will not merely be a ‘ceremonial gathering’, but a platform for driving reforms.
“We must ‘move from dialogue to implementation, from intention to execution, and from words to action’. In today’s context, innovation is no longer optional—it is the inevitable path to addressing challenges,” he said.
As such, Tiong, who is also the assemblyman for Dudong and MP for Bintulu, called upon all delegates to make the conference a milestone that genuinely drives collective action.
“I hope that when people look back at this moment, they will remember not only the speeches and photographs, but also the projects that have been implemented and have truly transformed communities and the environment,” he said.
The TTDI is an index developed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to measure the attractiveness and potential of countries for investment and development in the travel and tourism sector, rather than their attractiveness purely as a tourist destination. — DayakDaily
