GIT Academy Principal Dr Kenny Khan Quoted in Nanyang Siang Pau on the Future of Museum Tourism

GIT Academy Principal Dr Kenny Khan (简敬谊) was recently quoted as an industry expert in a feature published by Nanyang Siang Pau (南洋商报) through its e南洋 digital platform, examining whether museums can still capture the attention of younger, social-media-driven travellers.

The feature explores a broader shift in museum tourism: rather than simply viewing exhibits, today’s visitors increasingly want to “enter the scene” — seeking immersive, multi-sensory experiences over static displays. Speaking in his capacity as Deputy President of the Malaysia-China Folklore Culture Tourism General Chamber of Commerce (MCCTA), Dr Khan argued that immersive experience has become the new baseline expectation for travellers, and that museums hoping to win repeat visits need to combine sensory engagement, storytelling, technology and aesthetics into a genuine “new experience.”

He observed that many Malaysian museums still lean heavily toward preservation and static display, without fully tapping into the potential of curation, interactivity and cultural-tourism marketing — a model he suggested is no longer enough to draw in a new generation of travellers who crave curiosity, participation, and moments worth photographing and sharing.

The feature also touched on how technologies like AR and VR are beginning to bring exhibits to life elsewhere in the world, and profiled several Malaysian institutions — including the Kampar settlement museum in Perak and the Lim Lian Geok Memorial in Kuala Lumpur — as examples of how local museums are approaching deeper, more meaningful visitor engagement in their own way.

Having GIT Academy’s own Principal called on as an authoritative voice on the future of tourism and museum experience is a proud moment for the Academy, and a reflection of the depth of industry expertise behind GIT Academy’s training programmes.

Read the full feature (in Chinese) at e南洋 (Nanyang Siang Pau).