Much Ado Over A Tourism Promotion Video Clip

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ON Jan 6, Tourism Malaysia issued a media release entitled “Launch of Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign: A milestone for tourism growth” in conjunction with the launch on the same day by the prime minister in a hangar at MAB Engineering Complex at Sepang.
The first paragraph stated the campaign’s logo, mascot, theme song, and aircraft livery were officially unveiled. Hence, the hangar was chosen as the launch site as it could house airplanes from Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia, and Batik Air Malaysia, all displaying VM2026 liveries.
There was no mention of any promotional video but a 41-second video clip designed specifically for the launch event was shown and later shared online. Both Bersatu Youth and PAS Youth were quick to lambast that only a church and temple were featured, but no mosque.
Mosques are tourist attractions for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and more so if they are unique and easily accessible, such as our National Mosque which was completed in 1965 and is neither new nor old, and the Putra Mosque, which is the focal point for all visitors to Putrajaya.
Last December, I wrote, “Malaysians should learn about Chinese Muslims and mosques in Malaysia and China”. Our newest Chinese mosque is near Bukit Tinggi in Klang and three others are at Rantau Panjang in Kelantan, Tasik Jaya in Ipoh, and Krubong in Central Melaka District.
In total, there are more than 6,800 mosques in Malaysia and over 39,000 in China. Encouraging a greater exchange of visits to mosques in both countries by the ummah will also boost tourism. It will be an eye-opener for many, as religion transcends ethnicity, language, and culture.
How important are tourism promotion videos? They are more effective than texts as people prefer to watch and listen rather than read. 
Using montage by combining still photos or videos lasting a few seconds plus lively narration and music is better than just tabulating a long list of attractions.
Promotion videos are not documentaries. The former is more like commercials and the latter is educational by compiling and presenting factual information. Therefore, short promotion videos of Malaysia can only contain snippets of our country, and not a politically correct complete list.
But more importantly, are official promotion videos truly effective? If they are, then every country that has produced such videos would be swarming with foreign tourists, but this has not happened. To begin with, these videos would be viewed by very few of the targeted audiences.
For example, how many readers have watched official promotion videos produced and disseminated by the national tourism organisations (NTOs) of various countries around the world? The chances are the same as foreigners watching official promotion videos of Malaysia.
Although in the tourism industry, I have not watched a single one of them and have no plans to do so. Every day, I watched hundreds of video clips and glanced through publications in English by local news media, but not reports by Western media, as many are biased and full of propaganda.
Among my favourite activities is watching travel and food videos, making me an armchair traveller and foodie, but with no plans to travel there. As for destination promotion videos, they are less effective than normal commercials that advertise specific products by stoking emotions.
Lest we forget, the most effective video clips are those recorded and forwarded by family members, relatives, friends, and acquaintances, as they are most likely to be watched. These private videos could also spur many viewers to make plans to visit the destination or attraction.
On the other hand, images of sandy beaches and jungle-clad mountains may portray Malaysia as a tropical paradise but such isolated sites are unreachable to most visitors. Tourists who have bought tour packages are only brought to places along the routes planned in the tour itinerary.
Therefore, a promotion video or clip matters little in the overall scheme of things, although NTOs put in the budget and make a lot of fuss to screen one to hype up official events. Hence, I was not surprised that it was not even mentioned in the media release by Tourism Malaysia on Jan 6.
After receiving criticisms for mosques being left out in the video clip, the Tourism, Arts and Culture minister appeared to have backpedalled by announcing that a detailed video would be released soon, but he was not satisfied after viewing it on Jan 9 and ordered it to be redone.
He was reported to have said “I want the video to be divided by zones, so that people can understand what (attractions) each state has to offer, not jumping from here to there…causing foreign tourists to be confused, not knowing which attraction belongs to which state.”
“We will properly promote every state, and I have asked all state governments to cooperate and supply us with all the information about their tourism destinations, products, and (tour) packages, or even their signature dishes so that we can put it up and highlight (in the video)”.
All very politically correct of course and such a lengthy video with a complete list of everything makes great reference material but few people would watch. To increase viewership, lengthy videos should also be broken up into scores of video clips lasting for no more than three minutes. 
YS Chan is master trainer for Mesra Malaysia and Travel & Tours Enhancement Course as well as an Asean Tourism Master Trainer. He is also a transport and training consultant and writer.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT. 
- Focus Malaysia.

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