Malaysia's tourism industry is on the right track to recovery, with over 250,000 tourist arrivals and departures in the first four days of border reopening.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said however, as some countries had not opened its borders for travel, there had been no influx of tourists just yet.
"As of April 4, there are about 252,000 tourist arrivals and departures in Malaysia, and while a majority of them are Malaysian citizens coming back from overseas, from there we can expect that our figures (of international tourists) will be higher.
"Borders for countries like China and Japan, among our biggest markets, are still closed due to their governments' restrictions, so we'll monitor our progress in three months and review our targeted figures," she said after launching the Ola & Oli Kids' Safe Travel campaign here, today.
Based on the ministry's figures, as of April 4, a total of 252,730 arrivals and departures through the country's international points of entry had been recorded.
Of the total, 126,392 were Malaysians returning from overseas while 28,301 Malaysians departed the country.
Based on the ministry's figures, as of April 4, a total of 252,730 arrivals and departures through the country's international points of entry had been recorded.
Of the total, 126,392 were Malaysians returning from overseas while 28,301 Malaysians departed the country.
The country also recorded 55,121 international tourist arrivals, including from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, India, and the United Kingdom.
In her speech earlier, Nancy said the country's reopening was good news for the whole tourism and culture sector to regenerate their income.
Her ministry, she added, was targeting about two million international tourists into the country and receipts of RM8.6 billion.
"Although this is just an initial projection, the ministry is however optimistic that by 2025, international tourism revenue generation is expected to reach between RM47 and RM77 billion through the influx of 16 to 22 million tourists, God willing."
Nancy also praised companies, including family nutrition and wellbeing company Ola & Oli, for its collaboration with the tourism sector such as transportation, hotel, recreation and others to ensure that the tourism and culture ecosystem progressed smoothly.
She also said this would in turn help speed up the country's economic recovery.
"The ministry welcomes such collaborations, and in fact the ministry provides Tourism, Arts and Culture grants to aid industry players in organising high-impact tourism, arts and culture events in 2022.
"The Kids' Safe Travel campaign could also revive the 'prevention is better than cure' culture, something very much needed so tourism activities by Keluarga Malaysia can be carried out in a safe and controlled manner."
Read more here: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2022/04/787571/tourism-industry-right-path-recovery-says-nancy
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