The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture are developing initiatives and strategic plans to make Pondok- common name for Islamic religious shelter schools as part of the country’s tourist attraction. A study to identify the Pondok schools is being conducted so that it could be integrated into the tourism marketing plan.

The schools which will be selected will accommodate students from abroad for long- and short-term studies. Its Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said as a Muslim-friendly travel destination, Malaysia has a diverse range of potentially significant tourism resources.

According to him, the ministry in collaboration with the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) is actively developing initiatives and strategies to attract Muslim tourists seeking products and services that take into account their faith.

In an opening speech at the 2019 National Imam Conference which was read out by ITC director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Khani Daud here today, Mohamaddin Ketapi said“Among the strategies in empowering the Islamic tourism industry is to create these Pondok or shelter schools as an Edu-tourism product and to recognize Muslim-friendly tourist accommodation premises. In line with this, we want to promote Pondok schools which could offer accommodation as well as a specific syllabus to be packaged as a product,”.

Among the Top 10 Landmarks in Malaysia from 2016 to date, five mosques in the country have been listed in TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards. The mosques are the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque in Shah Alam, Selangor, Putra Mosque in Putrajaya, Zahir Mosque in Alor Setar, Kedah and Melaka Straits Mosque in Melaka.