Tourism Ministry Plans To Turn Religious Schools Into Tourist Attractions
The selected schools would also be asked to let out homes or rooms for visitors to stay.
By Liew Ashley — 29 Nov 2019, 03:07 PM
The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC) plans to make religious schools part of Malaysia's tourist attractions
In a report by Malay Mail, Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said that as a Muslim-friendly travel destination, Malaysia has a diverse range of potentially significant tourism resources.
According to him, MOTAC is collaborating with the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) to actively develop initiatives and strategies to attract Muslim tourists seeking products and services that take into account their faith.
"Among the strategies in empowering the Islamic tourism industry is to create these pondok or shelter schools as an edu-tourism product and to recognise Muslim-friendly tourism accommodation premises," he said earlier this week, as reported by Malay Mail.
A study is being carried out to identify the religious schools that would be turned into tourism spots
According to Free Malaysia Today, Mohamaddin said the selected schools should also consider letting out homes or rooms for visitors to stay as part of an attractive Islamic tourism product.
"In line with this we want to promote pondok schools which could offer accommodation as well as a specific syllabus to be packaged as a product," he said as quoted by Malay Mail.
Adding on, ITC director-general Abdul Khani Daud also proposed that schools open their doors for foreign exchange students as part of their long-term plan to boost their finances.
Besides religious schools, MOTAC is also planning to promote mosques as tourist destinations
According to Free Malaysia Today, Mohamaddin said that five mosques in the country were already well-known among tourists and have been named among TripAdvisor's Top 10 best landmarks in Malaysia.
The mosques are the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur; Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque in Shah Alam, Selangor; Putra Mosque in Putrajaya; Zahir Mosque in Alor Setar, Kedah; and Melaka Straits Mosque in Melaka.
