KUALA LUMPUR: The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry has successfully lured 450,000 tourists from China after the signing of two agreements during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s official visit to the country last month.
Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said the success was the result of the promotion done by Tourism Malaysia in conjunction with the Prime Minister’s visit to Beijing on March 29.
“During our promotion in Beijing, we met with several travel agencies and have so far signed an agreement with two companies, one of which will bring 350,000 tourists to Malaysia and the other will bring 100,000, while the rest are still in the process of documentation.
“There are some things that need to be resolved relating to visas and airline seats. As such, we will hold a series of discussions with airlines, the Immigration Department and the Home Affairs Ministry about those matters.
“This was among the ministry’s efforts to achieve the target of five million Chinese tourist arrivals this year,” he said at his ministry’s iftar event with foreign diplomats here on Thursday, Bernama reported.
The event, in addition to showcasing Malaysian cuisine, also highlighted elements of local art and culture, including the performance of traditional musical instruments gambus and sape as well as an exhibition of songket, batik and wood carvings by Kraftangan Malaysia.
Tiong said he was very grateful to be able to organise the event in the holy month.
“I hope we can work closely to strengthen our cooperation in marketing and promoting our tourism products to the world in preparation for the Visit Malaysia Year 2025,” he added.
