| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
advertisement | ||
Thursday July 3, 11:33 AMIslamic Nations Can Boost Collaboration in Tourism: MalaysiaKUALA LUMPUR, July 3 Asia Pulse - Islamic nations can further boost their cooperation, particularly in the tourism industry, by encouraging travellers to visit religious sites in Muslim states, Tourism Minister Azalina Othman Said said Wednesday.She said there was huge potential for "religious tourism" in these countries, especially in Malaysia, given the diverse cultures, religions and places of worship of various faiths. "I believe Malaysia has the capacity. We have a lot of mosques and we have a great history of Islam. Also, thousands of Hindu devotees come here for Thaipusam," she told reporters when responding to a question on how Islamic nations can complement each other to develop the tourism industry. Earlier, Azalina visited the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama). Religious tourism or commonly referred to as "faith tourism" is a form of tourism people travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage, missionary or fellowship purposes. According to World Tourism Organisation an estimated 300 to 330 million pilgrims visit the world's key religious sites every year. Azalina said she was in discussions with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also in charge of religious affairs, looking into strategies on how Malaysia can promote "religious tourism". "After performing Umrah or Haj, Muslim tourists from throughout the world can stopover to visit some of the prominent places of worship. I think it is quite possible, we are still looking at the strategies," she said. Malaysia, with 60 per cent of the population Muslims, is a member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and a member of the D-8, a group of the developing eight Islamic countries, that have formed an economic development alliance. Other members of the D-8 are Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey also have the potential to develop religious tourism given their rich cultural and religious background. Malaysia is hosting the 6th D-8 Summit in Kuala Lumpur from July 4 to 8. (BERNAMA-OANA) |
|||
|
Copyright © 2005 AsiaPulse Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Retransmission,dissemination or publication is expressly forbidden. Asia Pulse gives no warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy of the information and shall not be liable for errors, omissions, or delays or interruptions in the service.
|