KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) is tapping into social media to help boost the country’s tourism sector, which has been lagging following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan said it decided to seize the opportunity to promote tourism widely through this platform because of the increased use of social media, such as Facebook, Instagram and now Tik Tok, of late.
“The tourism industry, whether leisure or business, is especially dependent on social media, given the nature of picturesque images as a point to introduce a destination.
“Realising its importance, among the initiatives we’re set to engage with our partners include up-to-date tourism promotional campaigns, live feeds or updates on our flagship event destinations and venue promotions,” he said during his speech at the Social Media Tourism Conference at the Shangri Hotel here today.
He also said that social media influencers could also help out as studies had shown that users tended to seek influencers’ reviews whenever they wanted to know more about a particular subject.
Jeffrey said about 49 per cent of consumers relied on influencers’ recommendations on social media, while 71 per cent of consumers who have had a positive experience with a particular brand through social media were likely to recommend the brand to friends and family.
Meanwhile, celebrity and social media influencer Fara Fauzana, who was also present at the conference, said anyone could be content creators when it came to promoting tourism in Malaysia, provided they learn the right techniques.
“We have many people who become content providers or social media influencers. Sometimes, influencers need not be famous people with a big following because it’s the content—the way it is presented and information on the places featured — that makes you an influencer,” she told Bernama.
Actress-celebrity Maya Karin, meanwhile, said at the same event that since social media platforms like Instagram had a big impact in getting people to visit places, it was important to make sure the posts were real.
“It has become a trend these days that when we go on a holiday, we take millions of pictures and post them on Instagram. There’s a new word called “Instagrammable”... so when you walk into a hotel, restaurant or resort, and you’d go ‘oh! this is Instagrammable’.
“So, you must make sure the Instagram pictures are real,” she said. — Bernama
