Friday 29 Mar 2024
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(June 23): Malaysia risks losing out on high-spending tourists from China if it only grants visa exemptions to tour groups only, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) said today.

Its president, Hamzah Rahmat, said the move singled out independent travellers and could make them feel "shunned".

"Many high-spending tourists travel independently and often at short notice.”

“They spend much more on accommodation, shopping, food and beverage. Last year for example, 2.2 million China tourists spent a staggering RM86 billion in the United States, or a whopping RM40,000 per visitor,” he said in a press statement today.

He said if Malaysia wanted to meet its tourism targets, it should facilitate the entry of more high-spending tourists.

Hamzah was commenting on the Home Ministry's announcement on June 20 that visa exemptions would be given to tour groups from China on a trial basis.

But he warned that such "half-hearted measures" would not be effective and these had been proven by statistics on tourism arrives.
Arrivals for the first quarter this year dropped by 8.6%, he said.

When the visas for travellers from China were made free at the beginning of this year, the number of visitors from the country dropped by 27.1% in the first quarter, he added.

This number of visitors from China, Hamzah said, can raise tourist arrivals to Malaysia in the first quarter and the overall drop in arrivals will only have been 4.6% instead of the official figure of 8.6%.

"Chinese tourists are pivotal in the global tourism industry and if we do not woo them to our shores, they will just head to other destinations that are more welcoming," he said.

Malaysia is targeting 29.4 million visitors this year, an increase of 7.3% over 2014. It is also targeting RM89 billion in tourism receipts. – The Malaysian Insider

 

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