Tourism in Malaysia
The tourism industry in Malaysia has been identified as a key driver in the growth of the services sector. The tourism sector has been assuming a greater role in stimulating the economy during the Eighth and Ninth Malaysia Plan period. The overall policy thrust of the tourism sector is to achieve sustainable tourism growth to realize the full potential of employment and income-generation effects at the national, state and local levels (Economic Planning Unit, 2008).
In 2008, 22 million tourists visited Malaysia and the receipts from tourism amounted to RM49.56 billion justifying the role of tourism in stimulating the national economy (Tourism Malaysia). In the 1st quarter of 2009, the inflow of tourists has already been over 5 million (Tourism Malaysia). According to the Economic Report 2007/2008, the 2007 total earnings from tourism was RM38.2 billion or about 6.7% of GDP. In terms of employment about 51% of the total national workforce was in the services sector. This translates into almost 5.4 million out of the 10.73 million people being employed either directly or indirectly in the service sector, be it in hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, airlines, transportation etc.
By providing job opportunities, the tourism sector played a key role in keeping unemployment down to as low as 3.5% (Financial Express, 2007). By 2010 the number of tourist arrivals could increase to 24.6 million, generating receipts totalling RM59.4 billion and providing 520,700 jobs. In 2007, for the second time in a row, Malaysia was voted as the Best International Tourism Destination by the Global Traveller Magazine, encouraging more visitors to the country.
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Employment in Tourism
The opportunities and scope for employment in tourism is quite expansive. Embarking on a career in tourism involves growth opportunities not only within one’s own country but overseas as well. Tourism is a global phenomenon and not restricted to any one corner of the world and therefore the job opportunities exist in large numbers and varieties.
Career opportunities in tourism involve the government sector which deals with tourism planning, policy making, promotion as well as operations and the private sector that encompasses areas like the travel industry, consisting of transport service providers and travel intermediaries, as well as leisure, recreation, heritage and nature tourism, medical tourism and the MICE sector. Some of the jobs opportunities in the government sector are tourist information executives, tourism executives and tourism administration officers. The private sector promises a lot more. Some of the prominent jobs in the travel industry are leisure and corporate travel executives, travel sales consultants, tour consultants, airline guest service agents and process associates, travel product development officers and cruise line shore excursion executives and managers etc. No longer are travel industry jobs restricted just to tour guiding and ticketing & reservation although they are still some of the important functional areas in the travel industry.
In the areas of heritage, recreation and nature tourism, some of the attractive careers are ecotourism consultants, attraction operations officers, tourist facilitation officers, themed tour consultants and entertainment / recreation consultants. Medical tourism is one of the most promising areas in tourism in the recent times and offers career opportunities like destination coordinators and destination programme managers. These careers require much of the skills used in the travel industry. The MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) sector requires a lot of similar skills and expertise in tourism. One with a tourism education background can opt for careers like conference and meeting planner and producer, conference manager or incentive tour planner.
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Tourism Education
Education in Tourism has become essential to produce quality manpower for the growing tourism industry. Tourism education provides the platform for learning and training in order to hone the specialised skills required in the travel and tourism industry. Today’s tourism industry requires certain set of skills and formal training to carry out various functions and operations along with basic theoretical and conceptual knowledge.
Moreover, beyond acquiring skills, and gathering theoretical and conceptual knowledge about tourism, a higher requirement is to hone research skills in order to analyse, scientifically observe and to initiate innovative and feasible ideas as well as effective operational strategies. All these make it necessary to pursue education and training in tourism that will holistically shape a tourism industry aspirant into a complete tourism professional.
There has been a lot of expansion in tourism education in Malaysia recently. A number of well-known institutions in collaboration with reputed foreign universities are offering courses in tourism and travel management. The rise in the number of institutions imparting quality tourism education in Malaysia has also attracted a sizeable number of students from overseas.
Both local and international students can now get affordable and globally recognised tourism education in Malaysia. Some of the more prominent private University Colleges offering diploma and degree programmes in tourism management are like Taylors’ College, Sunway University College, SEGI and UNITAR. BERJAYA University College of Hospitality (BERJAYA UCH) is the most recently licensed by the Ministry of Higher Education to specifically offer diploma and degree programmes in hospitality, tourism and services on its own.
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Berjaya UCH and Berjaya Corporation
Unlike other private university colleges, BERJAYA UCH is a niche and boutique University College in Hospitality, Tourism and Services. BERJAYA UCH belongs to Berjaya Higher Education, a subsidiary of Berjaya Corporation. The ‘Berjaya’ brand is already an established one in the Malaysian tourism industry with its successful ventures in hotels and resorts, holidays and vacations and aviation.
The Berjaya Hotels and Resorts have properties across the world, such as in London, Seychelles, Colombo, Vietnam and Singapore and about 8 of them are located in Malaysia itself. Berjaya Vacation Club (BVC) deals with vacations and holidays for tourists in various destinations in Malaysia as well as overseas. In aviation, the Berjaya Air provides convenient and easy accessibility to many destinations in Malaysia as well as places in neighbouring countries like Koh Samui in Thailand and to Singapore. The destinations Berjaya Air flies to within Malaysia are some of the best beach and island tourism destinations in South East Asia and are also the destinations where Berjaya have their hotels and resorts.
The Berjaya Group offers a one-stop and a holistic experience to tourists in Malaysia. Starting from shopping and enjoying entertainment in the city of KL, experiencing sea, sand and spa in the beaches and islands as well as recuperating in the cool rain forested highlands of Malaysia, Berjaya offers all in one through Berjaya Hotels and Resorts, the Berjaya Air and the Berjaya Vacation Club.
It may seem obvious that a University College belonging to a group that offers so much in tourism is the best institution for someone who desires to be educated and become a wholesome travel and tourism professional. BERJAYA UCH is located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and within one of the best and well-known tourism landmarks of the city, the Berjaya Times Square. Being connected quite conveniently with the KL rail transit system and located closely to many important and happening places in the city, BERJAYA UCH offers a campus which is not limited to its premises but extends to the city of Kuala Lumpur as a whole.
The KL monorail system connects the University with key areas of the city through the Imbi station. The Rapid KL’s LRT Starline is just 5 minutes walk from the campus. The Hang Tuah station which is 5 minutes from the University College is the nearest railhead of the LRT Starline, the network of which is spread to many key residential and commercial areas in Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs. Besides, other modes of public transport like the Rapid KL bus services, the MetroBus and many others provide easy accessibility to the University College’s campus from any corner of the city.
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School of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Berjaya UCH
BERJAYA UCH currently operates three schools of studies, namely the School of Culinary Arts, School of Hospitality Management and the School of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Being part of a niche University College, the School of Tourism, Arts and Culture strives to impart tourism education with a difference i.e. to provide quality education and training in tourism management using state-of-the-art facilities and immersion methodology which allows the students to learn and experience real industry or business situation.
One who chooses to study tourism in this School will be successful in exploring those areas in tourism and travel that interests them and lead them towards a choice career. In the process of teaching and learning, the School will guide the students through various niche areas of tourism industry beyond the common perception that studying tourism only leads to limited and unexciting career opportunities.
Moreover, the presence of the sister organizations within the Berjaya Group with their successful businesses in hotels, resorts, holidays and aviation, can provide maximum exposure to the global tourism industry to those who choose to study tourism at BERJAYA UCH. Students may find this exposure an advantage in their learning and working experience. The School has qualified and highly experienced teaching staff as well as state-of-the-art facilities that create an ideal, competitive and a sophisticated learning atmosphere for students.
The School of Tourism, Arts and Culture currently offers a Diploma in Tourism and Travel Management (2 years and 5 months) and Bachelor of Tourism Management (Honours - 3 years and 6 months). These programmes have very well thought out course structures that expose a student to many niche and exciting new areas in tourism and travel management. Medical tourism, e-Tourism, and ecotourism are some of those new and exciting areas that students could be exposed to. Exposure to these new areas will enable students to have wider spectrum of lucrative career opportunities as well as entrepreneurial opportunities to choose from.
Following the concept of immersion methodology of BERJAYA University College of Hospitality, the School of Tourism, Arts and Culture tries to amalgamate the tourism industry resources within the Berjaya Corporation with the sophisticated teaching and learning atmosphere inside the campus. By doing this, the School is able to create a unique atmosphere that encompasses both academic and industry-oriented aspects in the field of travel and tourism. The School aspires to be a world-class School of Tourism, Arts and Culture with strong industry relationships, immersion teaching and learning methodology and highly qualified academic staff.
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