KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 11): The Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM2020) tourist arrivals target would still remain intact for now despite fears of the Wuhan virus, said Datuk Dr Ammar Abdul Ghapar, senior director of domestic and events division at Tourism Malaysia.

The government is targeting 30 million international tourist arrivals in 2020, with total tourist receipts of about RM100 billion.

In a press conference today, Ammar said it is still too early to assess the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the local tourism industry.

"At this juncture, we will still stick to the initial target and see how long the virus [contagion] will last, so it would depend on the reviews and response [from time to time].

"Since we have taken all the measures, especially looking at domestic and Asean... So, it is still early to review the target," he explained.

According to Tourism Malaysia figures, for the first nine months of 2019, there were 2.41 million tourist arrivals from China, accounting for about 12% of the total 20.11 million arrivals during the period.

They were among the biggest spenders, shelling out RM12.8 billion, or 19.3% of overall spending.

Meanwhile, regional neighbours such as Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines were also among the biggest contributors to tourist arrivals, accounting for 13.67 million visitors.

In terms of spending, tourists from Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand spent RM27.9 billion, or 42.18%.

China suspended overseas tour groups as well as flight and hotel packages for its citizens on Jan 26 to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Other countries eventually also banned travellers from China to contain the outbreak.

Malaysia remains open to Chinese tourists, except those originating from cities currently locked down by China’s government.

Yesterday, the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) reported a total of 95,972 room cancellations, amounting to a loss in revenue of more than RM40 million as at Feb 9.

Today, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) introduced its first ever MATTA Fair Cuti-Cuti Malaysia — a step to help the recovery of the local tourism industry.

"In view of the current consumer sentiment, it is now the best time to hold a new MATTA Fair exclusively for domestic tourism that facilitates Malaysian holidaymakers to enjoy the many attractions and safe havens within the country, and for service providers to switch focus from the inbound market to domestic,"said MATTA president Datuk Tan Kok Liang.

"As domestic tourism is now on everyone's lips, MATTA Fair Cuti-Cuti Malaysia will be held earlier to meet consumer demand," he said, adding that this fair is supported by Tourism Malaysia, airlines, hotels and major attractions, many of which are expected to provide “irresistable offers” for prospective tourists.

The fair will be held on April 4 and 5 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Tan told reporters that the fair aims to achieve sales of RM20 million to RM30 million.

Meanwhile, the biannual Kuala Lumpur MATTA Fair has been deferred to between May 1 and 3.