Chinese tourist arrivals not affected by MH370, Sabah kidnappings

A popular stretch of beach in Port Dickson

PORT DICKSON: The involvement of Chinese nationals as victims in the MH370 tragedy and kidnapping cases, especially in Sabah, does not hamper tourists from China from coming to Malaysia.  

Malaysian Consul-General in Kunming Datuk Siow Chen Pin said this was reflected in the arrival of 1.68 million tourists from China to Malaysia in 2015, which saw an increase of four per cent from that of 2014.  

Between January and October last year, tourist arrivals from China was 1.75 million, he added.  

He said the MH370 tragedy did affect tourist arrival from China, but only for some time after the aircraft went missing, and the number soared again after that.

"As for the kidnapping case, it happened in Sabah and does not affect tourism in the peninsula," he told reporters after opening the FAM International Media Trip involving the participation of 19 media representatives from China.  

Also present was Negri Sembilan Tourism Board chairman Datuk Mohamad Razi Kail.  

Flight MH370, carrying 239 passengers and crew, went missing from the radar after leaving Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing on March 8, 2014.  

The aircraft has yet to be found despite the massive search conducted beneath the southern Indian Ocean where its path was believed to have ended.  

In another development, Siow said the Consulate General of Malaysia in Kunming had approved 200,000 visa applications to Malaysia from the Yunnan province last year.  

He is targeting 300,000 applications from the province this year.  

Mohamad Razi said Negri Sembilan was targeting eight million tourist arrivals in the state this year, from seven million last year.  

"In Port Dickson, there are 16,000 rooms available to accommodate tourists," he added. - Bernama