He said the transition will be carried out within six months and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

“This will allow the agency to hire more employees with a strong tourism background to help improve marketing and woo more visitors.

“Corporatisation is not a new thing because other states such as Penang and Selangor have already implemented this,” he said after the closing ceremony for a Tourism Johor empowerment workshop here today.

Onn Hafiz said the idea to corporatise the agency came from Johor regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim.

He said the empowerment workshop held today allowed the state government to engage with tourism industry players in preparation for Visit Johor Year 2026.

Also present at the function were Johor unity, heritage and culture committee chairman K Raven Kumar and Tourism Johor director Sharil Nizam Abdul Rahim.

Sharil welcomed the move to corporatise Tourism Johor as it will make it easier for the agency to collaborate with private, foreign and other parties.