KUALA LUMPUR: Nearly 1.8 million tourists from China visited Malaysia between January and May this year, following the introduction of a visa waiver for Chinese travellers.
Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan said that after the policy took effect in 2024, Chinese tourist arrivals rose significantly, from 1.6 million in 2023 to 3.4 million last year.
He said the ministry, in collaboration with the travel agency association, is actively carrying out various promotional initiatives to attract Chinese tourists, particularly Muslim travellers.
"Among these efforts, we invited more than 100 imams from China and Europe to experience first-hand Malaysia’s Muslim-friendly tourism concept, which is in fact, suitable for people of all backgrounds and religions," he said during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Aug 11).
He was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik (PH-Balik Pulau), who asked about the government’s initiatives to attract Muslim tourists from China to Malaysia.
Meanwhile, in his reply to a supplementary question from Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli (PN-Dungun) on the ministry’s strategy to ensure equitable benefits and economic spillovers to the east coast states, Khairul Firdaus said integrated promotions were being conducted through Tourism Malaysia and the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) to showcase attractions such as the Crystal Mosque to markets in Asean, Europe, China, Japan, and South Korea.
"However, it is also closely linked to the culture of the local community, and when we are able to promote these elements, it will create spillover benefits for industries such as homestays, handicrafts, and traditional foods," he said. - Bernama
