Voluntourism: It is a personal opinion, says Nancy

KUALA LUMPUR – “That is a personal matter, and I should not be commenting something that is personal.”

That was the response from the Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri regarding the volunteer tourism statement made by former Minister of Tourism and Culture, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

However, in a positive manner, the minister added that volunteer tourism had been actively applied in Malaysia.

“We have been applying for volunteer tourism, for example we have Deepavali and Citrawarna in Sarawak.

“Wherever in the state and recently we have also registered volunteer too in Terengganu for Hari Raya, which we called volunteerism,” she said.

On the other note, Nancy also responded to the reporter’s question regarding Covid-19 cases in Malaysia.

She opined that based on recent cases, “Malaysia is doing quite well compared to the other countries,”

“Plus, the ministry also received quite a number of people responding to our promotion since our Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) is more relaxed,” Nanc said during the press conference at the official launch of Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Online.

The minister added as the SOP was more relaxed, it eventually had encouraged more people to come and visit Malaysia.

The event was also attended by Matta President Datuk Tan Kok Liang and Fusion Group Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Seri Ivan Teh.