{"id":12602,"date":"2021-06-15T15:25:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T07:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/?p=12602"},"modified":"2024-04-01T17:21:22","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T09:21:22","slug":"malaysias-heritage-cuisine-has-potential-to-draw-muslim-tourists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/malaysias-heritage-cuisine-has-potential-to-draw-muslim-tourists\/","title":{"rendered":"MALAYSIA\u2019S HERITAGE CUISINE HAS POTENTIAL TO DRAW MUSLIM TOURISTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Malaysia\u2019s melting pot of diverse cultures is among the top factors that draw Muslim\u00a0tourists to Malaysia, its various types of culinary choices inclusive (Picture credit:\u00a0Tourism Malaysia)<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA, 14 JUNE 2021<\/b>: Malaysia\u2019s cuisine heritage, drawn from the cultural diversity of its people, has potential to attract Muslim tourists from around the world looking for halal and unique food experiences.<\/p>\n

Dato\u2019 Dr. Mohmed Razip Haji Hasan, Director General of Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC), is passionate about the heritage value of Malaysian food and believes that Malaysian food can be a special touristic draw especially for Muslim tourists from around the world.<\/p>\n

Focusing on the melting pot of the Southeast Asian nation\u2019s demography, he opined: \u201cMalaysia has a diverse population, and each state, each race, each ethnic group has its own unique cultural heritage when it comes to cooking. The food heritage of Sabah and Kedah, for example, are vastly different from each other.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSimilarly, the types of meals served at dinner tables in Sarawak are not the same as the ones served in Selangor. It\u2019s not just about unique ingredients, but also the unique cooking techniques employed in the preparation,\u201d he further added.<\/p>\n

A classic example to the point above would be the beef rendang, a typical Malaysian dish where the meat is slow-cooked with various herbs and spices over many hours until tender. Each state in Malaysia has its own traditional rendang recipe, ranging from the way the beef is cut, to the types and amount of herbs and spices used, even to intrinsic details such as the exact moment when the coconut cream is to be added to the process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Simply put, a beef rendang found in Perak may taste different from a beef rendang originating from Negeri Sembilan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Director-General of ITC, Dato’ Dr. Mohmed Razip Haji Hasan believes there are opportunities for collaboration to develop Malaysia as an attractive destination for the Muslim travel market<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMalaysian food is not just about the taste, but the whole dining experience. Frankly speaking, Malaysian culinary arts is a story or representation of Malaysia\u2019s culture, her people and their heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that various Malaysian food is easily available as Halal food is also a huge draw, especially for Muslim tourists from non-Muslim majority countries where Halal food is not as easily accessible as it is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He believed that Malaysian cuisine had great potential to be a touristic draw and encouraged tourism industry players to work together to make Malaysia an attractive destination for Muslims.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see the opportunities where travel agents, tourist guides, hotels, and restaurants can collaborate to create packages that are catered to the niche Muslim tourist market.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can work with Islamic Tourism Centre and the Department of National Heritage (Jabatan Warisan Negara\/JWN), both departments and agencies under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia. Interestingly, JWN has also worked on an initiative to preserve our national heritage by compiling a list of cuisine which are \u2018endangered\u2019 or nearing extinction.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTour operators can work with ITC\u2019s Muslim-friendly Accommodation Recognition (MFAR) hotels where facilities such as Halal restaurants are available, besides having chefs and culinary experts that can prepare special Malaysian dishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWhat\u2019s special about Malaysia is not only in the diversity of food choices but also the fact that Halal food is easily available here. This is something worth highlighting to Muslims around the world because we understand that for Muslims, both locals and tourists, this (Halal food) is especially important to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cFrom a Muslim tourist\u2019s point of view, when accessibility to Halal food is present in a particular destination, consequently it will make their visit here more welcoming, more comfortable, culminating in a positive experience of Malaysia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dato\u2019 Dr. Mohmed Razip expressed his views above while lauding the efforts of Datin Kalsom Taib and Datin Hamidah Hamid, for compiling beloved traditional Malaysian recipes in the book, Malaysia\u2019s Heritage Cuisine<\/i>. The book, which the duo co-authored, recently won in the Best of Asia <\/i>book category at the Gourmand Awards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that a book on Malaysian traditional cuisines won this award shows that the interest in our gastronomic culture is high. We should take the initiative to leverage on this attention and recognition by introducing Malaysia and our food to the Muslim world,\u201d Dato\u2019 Dr. Mohmed Razip said.<\/p>\n

——- \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0END \u00a0 \u00a0 ——-<\/p>\n

Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) is an entity under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and\u00a0Culture, Malaysia tasked to develop the Islamic tourism (IT) segment for Malaysia. It\u00a0advocates for Muslim-friendly tourism (MFT) by offering research and market
\nintelligence, training, industry development consultation, Muslim-friendly tourism and\u00a0hospitality (MFTH) services standards and certification, and information exchange.<\/p>\n

In 2021, ITC was named the recipient of the Strategic Business Alliance Award at\u00a0The BrandLaureate World Halal Best Brand E-Branding Awards 2021. It is a\u00a0recognition of ITC\u2019s efforts and endeavours in formulating new strategies to meet the\u00a0new normal of the business environment to ensure business continuity and\u00a0sustainability, notwithstanding its role to develop and grow the IT segment in\u00a0Malaysia.<\/p>\n

In addition, Malaysia was named top country in the region in the MFT sector by the State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) Report 2020\/21.<\/p>\n

Both recognitions are added motivation for ITC to continue to strengthen its efforts in being a prime mover and leading institution to ensure Malaysia is at the forefront of MFTH.<\/p>\n

For further details, kindly contact:<\/p>\n

Islamic Tourism Centre,
\nLevel 13, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia
\nNo. 2 Tower 1, Jalan P5\/6,
\nPrecinct 5, 62200 Putrajaya, Malaysia<\/p>\n

Tel: 03-8891 7177 or via email itc@itc.gov.my\/v2<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow ITC on these social platforms:<\/p>\n

Facebook: Islamic Tourism Centre<\/a>
\nTwitter: @itc_my<\/a>
\nInstagram: @itc_my<\/a>
\nYoutube : Islamic Tourism Centre<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Malaysia\u2019s cuisine heritage, drawn from the cultural diversity of its people, has potential to attract Muslim tourists from around
\nthe world looking for halal and unique food experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12603,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"categories":[349],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12602"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12602"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12658,"href":"https:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12602\/revisions\/12658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itc.gov.my\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}