KUCHING: Malaysia can learn from the phenomenon of “Hallyu’ or Korean Wave to boost the country’s tourism industry, says Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia Minister, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
She said South Korea had started promoting Hallyu through its popular dramas, movies and pop music over the past 20 years.
“This approach has proved successful as South Korea is now famous around the world, thus attracting tourists to visit the East Asian country.
“Even filming locations for South Korean dramas or movies are promoted by them. We in Malaysia also have some famous filming locations, but they are not promoted as much.
“We, in the ministry, are willing to help for promotional purposes, but the local people should also take advantage of this opportunity,“ she said in her speech at the Youth in Tourism 2022 town hall session, here, today.
A total of 300 students from public and private universities, tourism product providers and non-governmental organisations attended the event, which included discussions on the challenges and solutions in boosting the tourism industry.
Meanwhile, Nancy urged tourism industry players to adopt the latest technologies to promote their products.
“For example, we can learn to use algorithms on social media to get the best reach.
“We also need to innovate and come up with new, more dynamic ideas that meet the current needs and desires to attract more international tourists to Malaysia,“ she stressed. - Bernama
