The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) suggests that the Malaysian government should grant visa-free travel for tourists from Chinese and Indian in order to boost Malaysia’s tourism, reported the national news agency, Bernama, today.
Matta president Tan Kok Liang said: “the Malaysian tourism industry is trailing behind neighbouring countries such as Thailand which has recorded a growth of 7.8 percent, Singapore (6.2 percent) and Philippines (11 percent),” he said in a statement today.
Tan said Malaysia could climb up and become a tourist powerhouse holiday destination if the government grants visa-free travel for tourists, particularly from China and India.
“According to Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia recorded a 34.2 percent increase in Chinese tourists and 10.4 percent growth in Indian tourists from Jan to Sept 2018 compared with the same period in 2017.
“With the growth of Chinese and Indian tourists, the government should take the opportunity to entice these two top markets for inbound tourism with convenient and hassle-free entry into Malaysia,” he said.
“Neighbouring countries such as Thailand are offering visa facilitation to lure foreign tourists especially to welcome Chinese and Indian tourists, while Indonesia has granted visa-free travel to citizens of 169 countries including Chinese and Indian nationals to their country,” he added.
