Upclose with Nizran Noordin
Director General of Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC)
Nizran Noordin, 47, helms ITC as it celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. Since taking up his appointment on 10 July 2023, the former Group Chief Executive Officer-cum-Executive Director of the public- listed Majuperak Holdings Berhad, has been entrusted to lead ITC, an entity under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) into its next phase of transformational growth.
With the ground works for ITC’s Muslim-Friendly Tourism & Hospitality Assurance and Recognition (MFAR) and the Muslim-Friendly Tourist Guide (MFTG) programmes already in place, our Petaling Jaya-born city slicker, armed with his extensive corporate background that spans over 24 years, enters into an exciting phase with global tourism going through post COVID-19 recovery and Malaysia gearing for its Visit Malaysia Year 2026.
How would you describe your leadership style having come from a corporate background?
In all my years in corporate ventures, nothing is truer than the wisdom of results speaking louder than anything else. I am prone to taking a solutions-based and return on investment-based approach to any strategy we want to introduce to the industry. My limited tourism experience before joining ITC was when I turned around the Tasik Cermin. Once an economic backwater, this new tourism product in Perak is now the pride of Ipoh, welcoming throngs of visitors daily worldwide. It is this action- oriented outlook in my working style that aligns well with what ITC has been tasked to do. Another wisdom that I learned from corporate life is that networking is gold. Thus, I try my best to nurture cross-sectoral relationships and collaborations between tourism, finance and technology as well as bringing in fresh perspectives and innovative ideas.
As a strong believer of value creation in our products and services, I look forward to going the extra mile and continuing to deliver high impact programmes and initiatives for Malaysia.
Under your year-long leadership, what are some milestones reached by ITC?
It has been a team effort all the while, and whatever successes ITC celebrates today is the result of the legacy left behind by my predecessors since its establishment in 2009. One of the key milestones was the China Imam Fam Trip in January 2024 organised for some 35 imams or Islamic leaders from 14 provinces in China. Through the familiarisation programme, we provided the imams with a first-hand experience of Malaysia’s multicultural, vibrant and tolerant environment for them to promote Malaysia to their friends, family, and community back home. It is an honour for me to be part of this ambitious new project aimed at enhancing Islamic tourism.
Tell us more about this Fam Trip, which exceeded your expectations and resulted in increased interest and bookings from Chinese Muslim tourists.
We collaborated with the Malaysian Inbound Chinese Association (MICA) along with support from MOTAC’s promotion arm, Tourism Malaysia, and other industry players to achieve this record-breaking success. MICA reportedly brought in 58,000 Muslim tourists from China with expenditure amounting to RM92.8 million between February and March 2024 as a result of the fam trip.
The driving factors can be attributed partly to the power of innovative public-private partnerships between ITC and MICA as well as the appointment of imams from China by MICA as travel and cultural ambassadors. Malaysia’s robust Muslim-friendly environment and its abundant choice of tourism products and services for Muslims were other contributing factors. This success will further open up opportunities for us to tap into the 30 million Chinese Muslim market.
We are working towards establishing Malaysia as an umrah or pilgrim’s hub, offering Muslim tourists within Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania the opportunity to explore Malaysia’s diverse attractions either before or after performing their umrah.
What are the initiatives undertaken by ITC to promote Malaysia as an umrah hub?
Appointed to lead this Special Task Force, ITC has been engaging with various ministries, government agencies and tourism industry players to detail out the implementation plan. The proposal involves areas such as promotion, package development, provision of accommodation and transportation for the pilgrims as well as language, and customer service courses for frontliners. The foundation work is being set and once approved, we will all work together to promote and position Malaysia as an umrah hub.
What are the key markets that ITC is eyeing for Muslim- friendly (MF) tourism?
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries are a key focus with its 1.1 billion Muslim market. Southeast Asia with its 255 million Muslim population and the 350 million Muslims residing in non-Muslim-majority countries are other potential markets. ITC collaborates closely with Tourism Malaysia and sometimes join them to participate in global exhibitions in China, Russia, London and the Middle East to introduce Malaysia as a destination.
Who are the participants in the upcoming Islamic Tourism Month (ITM) consumer event?
To be held from 16 August to 30 September 2024, ITM is a platform to promote MF products and services nationwide through special offers and promotions by our partners, whom we target to have 250 participants. ITC hopes to spotlight on Malaysia’s vibrant and exciting Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality (MFTH) ecosystem, including facilities and activities attractively tailored for domestic and international tourists. They include hotels, spas, healthcare tourism and travel packages, restaurants, events, shopping and retail, mosque tourism as well as seminars and training. Visit www.itm.itc.gov.my for more information.
ITC will host the fourth World Islamic Tourism Conference (WITC) on 12 and 13 September 2024 at Sunway Resort Hotel in Selangor. Are you targeting international participants and what efforts have been made to promote this event?
We are targeting 30% international participation. To achieve that, ITC is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism Malaysia to promote through their overseas offices. During our participation in overseas exhibitions and events, we have been promoting WITC 2024. We also promote it via social media.
What does ITC hope to achieve through the WITC 2024 as the travel industry recover from the pandemic?
We aim to provide new perspectives on the Muslim tourist market, which extends beyond the Middle East. With a global Muslim population of two billion last year, its potential is vast and geographically diverse, with women and youth being significant drivers of this demographic. Opportunities also abound for cross- sectoral collaborations between tourism and finance, technology, social media, and beyond – which can contribute to a more robust post-pandemic recovery. Discussions at the WITC will also cover the sustainability and inclusive aspects of tourism, ensuring responsible practices for both businesses and tourists.
How does ITC promote sustainability in Islamic tourism?
Through our collaborations with universities to conduct research on the sustainability of Islamic tourism, we discovered that the Islamic principles of Maqasid Shariah and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) are aligned. We have incorporated sustainability in our MFAR guidelines to ensure that our MFAR recipients also have sustainability practices that contribute to their MFAR ratings. Additionally, we work with mosque administrators and pondok stay operators to introduce them to Islamic tourism and explore how their products and services can be expanded to attract the overseas Muslim tourist market for income generation.
Share with us MFAR’s progress and how many organisations have participated in it thus far.
Within a few years after MFAR was introduced in 2019, ITC managed to sign up some 54 hotels. After the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted, we further harmonised the guidelines through workshops with the industry players and rebranded MFAR to cover various business sectors. They include accommodation premises, spa and wellness premises, medical facilities, travel operating businesses, transportation hubs, tourism products, shopping centres, theme and entertainment parks, rest and recuperation areas, as well as trade and convention centres. It is now more inclusive and offers opportunities for all sectors to be part of the Muslim- Friendly Tourism and Hospitality (MFTH) ecosystem. We onboarded 26 hotels this year and are targeting 350 MFAR recipients by the end of 2025.
To ramp up awareness on MFAR, ITC implements a two-pronged approach to engage with the public and the industry players. We promote MFAR businesses to consumers through media campaigns such as our ongoing collaboration with TV AlHijrah, and also through our consumer website, mymuslimtrip.com. We will be rolling out the brand awareness for MFAR on billboards soon. To encourage more industry players to subscribe or sign up for MFAR, we conduct awareness seminars, participate in trade exhibitions and share information through our social media and corporate website, itc. gov.my.
How many MFTGs are there in Malaysia currently and how significant is their services?
Some 211 MFTGs are now registered with ITC. We target 380 MFTGs by the end of 2025. These MFTGs are registered with the MOTAC and have undergone three days of MFTG training with ITC, where they learn about the Muslim tourist market, Muslims’ religious obligations and their faith-based needs when travelling, halal concept and more. Our holistic MFTG training modules add value to their profession. Tourists are assured that these guides understand their Muslim needs and know how to interact with them accordingly
Moving forward, how does ITC use data to capture more Muslim tourists to Malaysia?
We harness data by analysing trends, needs and preferences to develop targeted strategies and campaigns for this market. Such data-driven insights support the industry players in designing and marketing products that meet the Muslim tourists’ specific demands while also helping ITC to create relevant training modules to educate industry professionals on providing suitable facilities and services. This comprehensive approach ensures effective market engagement, relevant product offerings and well-informed service delivery.