NEVER A DAY WITHOUT AN IDEA

The wide variety of food in Malaysia can be an effective tool to demonstrate and communicate the nation's diversified culture to attract tourists.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the extensive range of our local dishes was very much a reflection of the cultural melting pot that revolves around a unique yet distinct Malaysian identity.

In the tourism sector, she said food and beverages had contributed significantly to the total revenue earned from tourists.She said last year alone, out of the RM53.4 billion earned in tourist receipts, about RM9.29 billion or 17.4 percent was spent on food and beverages.

"For 2010, we projected tourist expenditure on food and beverages to rise to 18.4 percent or RM10.13 billion approximately," she said at the soft launch of the Fabulous Food 1Malaysia-Restaurant and Street Food Carnival (FF1M) here Saturday.

She added that by highlighting local delicacies, visitors, foreign and Malaysian alike, would have an opportunity to savour authentic rich local flavours of the people.On the festival, Ng said it would be part of the efforts to celebrate and promote Malaysia's local cuisine to woo more foreign tourists."This festival was to celebrate and promote Malaysia's local cuisine with a series of exciting activities to titillate, engage and delight the taste buds of Malaysians and visitors alike," she added.

The FF1M will take place at the Tun Razak Hall 1 of the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) from Dec 17 to 19 and the exhibition will feature presentations by local restaurant operators who will promote their restaurants' specialties to tourists.