KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — The travel and tourism industry in Malaysia will grow 6.8 per cent this year on the back of a positive performance in 2013, says the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

It its Economic Impact Report released today, the council said the total contribution of the travel and tourism industry to Gross Domestic Product last year was RM158.2 billion or 16.1 per cent.

“The total contribution of the industry to employment, including jobs indirectly supported by the sector was 1.86 million or 14.1 per cent of total employment.

“Travel and tourism investment stood at RM20.7 billion in 2013 or 7.7 per cent of total investments.

“It is projected to rise by 5.1 per cent in 2014,” it said.

President and Chief Executive Officer David Scowsill, however, said further action was required to ensure the industry remained positive in the future.

“The outlook for the travel and tourism sector in the next ten years looks extremely favourable, with an annual growth forecast of more than 4.0 per cent.

“This will require governments to implement more open visa regimes and adopt intelligent rather than punitive taxation policies.

“It is also critical that public and private partnerships ensure that long-term infrastructure and human resource needs are planned responsibly and sustainably, to absorb the inevitable growth that we are forecasting,” he added. — Bernama