LETTER | The Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri has urged state authorities, local councils and community leaders to help boost domestic tourism by connecting travellers to “hidden gems and untold stories” in their areas.

The minister means well and it is a timely focus given the post-pandemic dent to foreign tourism and Malaysia's long neglect of local tourism given the chase for the foreign tourist dollar.

In neighbouring Thailand, there is an ever-growing trend among locals to rest and recreate far and wide of their country throughout the year.

There are two contributing factors that make local tourism sustainable and sought after.

One, the government ensures that numerous rest and recreational spots are developed and maintained in an integrated manner to enable citizens to take a break even over weekends with family and friends.

So it is very common to see droves of locals in Thailand frequent their country's "hidden gems".

Accommodation, F&B and amenities are made accessible and affordable for locals. Hence families spend time at waterfalls, seasides or even visit historic sites, farmlands and nature haven over weekends.

But look at the numerous tourism spots throughout our own country that started with a bang and much political fanfare but were soon left to the elements to self destruct.

The other factor is the culture to rest and recreate.

This has been long overlooked in Malaysia where we overemphasised on chasing after money, progress, development and career or business success.

In fact, families will complain they do not have the time and money to go take a break.

When the culture to rest, recreate and explore is weak or annihilated owing to engineered socio-economic demands, it needs much concerted and coordinated efforts by the government to strike a better balance.

And because we were overemphasising on foreign tourist purse strings, we did not see how unaffordable local tourism has turned out to be too.

Hopefully, with the minister's call to Malaysians, there will be serious effort to correct the imbalances and neglect that has acutely negated our ability and means to enjoy our own land. 

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.