The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) has come
up with a novel way of promoting its ‘Sustainable Malaysia Initiative’
at the World Travel Market in London.
In collaboration with Tourism Malaysia, MATTA asked British wildlife
artist Rachel Gray to produce one large format of the Malaysian tiger, a
recognised endangered species.
This portrait, using technology, will be converted to Non-Fungible
Tokens (NFTs), which will be auctioned for sale later in the year.
The proceeds from the auction will go towards supporting sustainable
tourism at the Royal Belum State Park in the Malaysian state of Perak,
and will also help to sustain the indigenous communities that live
within the park.
“This initiative is hoped to bring further awareness of Malaysia’s
ecotourism products and sustainable tourism, apart from supporting the
local communities and their conservation efforts.
“This is also in line with our focus to promote Malaysia as the
top-of-the-mind ecotourism destination of the world,” said Dato’ Roslan
Tan Sri Abdul Rahman, secretary general of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts
and Culture Malaysia.
In a WTM market update on tourism performance post-Covid, Tourism
Malaysia confirmed the country is closing in on its target of 16.1
million international tourist in 2023.