Financial benefits of a strong and successful domestic and international tourism industry to the public and private sector

Abstract

I am honoured to have been invited to participate in the first National Tourism Conference sponsored by the National Tourism Council of Malaysia. I have been asked to speak on "Financial Benefits of a Strong and Successful Domestic and International Tourism Industry to the Public and Private Sector". Since it is difficult to comprehensively cover all the financial benefits that the tourism industry yields in the time given, I will confine my remarks to only a brief overview, and focus more attention on the importance of the international tourism industry as a foreign exchange earner and its impact on the Balance of Payments. I will also attempt to say a few words about how a dynamic domestic tourism industry can help in conserving foreign exchange in reducing outflow of funds.