REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDUNG -- Indonesia and Malaysia established cooperation in tourism promotion and development of Islamic or sharia tourism in order to optimize market potential in the sector.
"One part of tourism promotion in Indonesia is sharia tourism. The important point in this cooperation is the marketing," said expert staff of Ministry of Tourism, Syamsul Lussa, on 'Joint Seminar on Islamic Tourism', in Bandung, Monday (26/10).
He said Indonesia has potential of business in sharia tourism products to promote hotels, travel agencies, and restaurants based on sharia. This was already done by Malaysian tourism to attract visits to the country.
According to Syamsul, Indonesia and Malaysia have similar tourism potential and when it is developed through cooperation, the traffic of visit will be significant. The two countries were very possible to do collaborative development of tourism.
The cooperation was also welcomed by Malaysian Tourism Minister YB Datuk Mas Ermieyanti who participated in the event.
"There are a lot of great potential in the world market that we have. It's a good cooperation to promote Islamic tourism in Malaysia and Indonesia to the world," said Ermieyanti.
He said, cooperation between Malaysia and Indonesia can increase Islamic tourism promotion and give examples to other Islamic countries in tourism industry. According to Global Muslim Travel Index 2014, Malaysia was ranked as the top tourist destinations in Muslim world with the most traffic.
While, Director of Islamic Tourism Center of Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Malaysia, Zulkifly Md Said, also hoped that the collaboration can be optimal.
"Malaysia and Indonesia have a very good destination for them (Muslim travelers). I welcome the cooperation," he said.
Zulkifly also expressed, Malaysia's success can not be separated from facilities for Muslim tourists, including prayer rooms, halal food, and a licensed hotel. Indonesia has also prepared excellent destinations as Moslem Friendly Destination, among others, Aceh, West Sumatra, Pekanbaru Riau, Lampung, Bantaeng, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Central Java, East Java, Bali, Lombok, and Makassar.
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