Cocoa industry will help boost our tourism industry – Nazri

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Nazri gestures after the lauch of Chocolate Museum at Kota Damansara in Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama photo

KUALA LUMPUR: The country’s flourishing cocoa industry will help boost a chocolate concept tourism industry in the future, said Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

He said the government will always be committed towards promoting a chocolate tourism industry as a unique tourism product in Malaysia.

As one of the biggest exporters of cocoa in Asia, Malaysia has also produced local chocolate brands which need to be promoted as there is continuous demand for the product, he told reporters after officiating the Chocolate Museum here yesterday.

He said the museum would indirectly give local and foreign tourists knowledge on the origins of the industry and its development in the country.

The museum, located in Kota Damansara, is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.

Operated by local chocolate manufacturer DR Group Holdings Sdn Bhd, the museum also provides information
on the benefits of chocolate for health, as well as demonstrations on how to make handmade chocolate.

The museum has received more than 50,000 visitors since it opened its door in January 2013.

In another development, Mohamed Nazri said the number of tourists from Thailand has dropped to 1.35 million last year compared to 1.5 million in 2012. —Bernama