The Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board (Tourism Malaysia) has recently appointed Dato’ Dr. Ammar Abd. Ghapar as the new Director General of Tourism Malaysia.
Dato’ Dr. Ammar has 35 years of public service experience and was previously the Senior Director of the International Promotion Division. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, UiTM.
According to a statement on the Malaysia Tourism website, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, YB Dato Sri Tiong King Sing has agreed to appoint Dato’ Dr. Ammar officially to replace Dato’ Hj. Zainuddin Abdul Wahab who had retired compulsorily on April 10, 2023.
Graduated with a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Hotel and Tourism Management studies and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Dato’ Dr. Ammar has been trusted to carry out the duties as Senior Director of Management in addition to leading the Strategic Planning Division as well as the Domestic & Events Division of Tourism Malaysia.
In addition to having been appointed as the Director of the Finance Division, he also held the position of Foreign Affairs Director in Osaka and Moscow, respectively in 1999 and 2008 as well as State Director of Tourism Malaysia Kedah/Perlis in 2005.
In 2021, Dato’ Dr. Ammar heads the Secretariat of the Travel Bubble Task Force to drive recovery efforts in the tourism industry affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
