KUCHING: An accounting system will be set up to track how much each component of the tourism industry contributes to the country’s estimated annual tourism earnings of RM26bil.
The proposed “tourism satellite account system,” the first in South-East Asia and based on the French model, will be in place next year, said Tourism Minister Datuk Dr Leo Michael Toyad.
He said the system would be jointly implemented with the French government and the European Union Commission.
The commission will fund half the project, which costs more than RM2mil, and provide the software for the sophisticated system.
“Through the system, we can determine which tourism markets and products are in demand,” the minister said after launching a domestic sales mission organised by Tourism Malaysia at the Grand Continental Hotel here yesterday.
Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Kamaruddin Siaraf said the tourism satellite account would be maintained by the Statistics Department.
From the data generated by the system, he said the Government would know the contributions from each sector in the industry, like hotels and restaurants.
This would help the Government rectify weaknesses and improve on services, he said.
Dr Toyad said that to increase profit margins the tourism industry players should package their products creatively and come up with new ideas.
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