Direct flight boost to hit the target of Chinese tourists
.png)
The Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture predicts that the number of Chinese tourists arriving this year will surpass the seven million objective thanks to the launch of direct flights between Malaysia and several Chinese cities.
According to Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, the total number of flights between the two nations is anticipated to surpass the peak level in 2019 due to the growth in direct flights.
Following discussions with other airlines, he continued, his ministry intends to begin service in March with a round-trip flight from Xi'an to Kuala Lumpur and a chartered flight from Urumqi to KL in May, or at the latest, July.
One tactic, according to him, to attract the seven million Chinese visitors Malaysia is hoping to attract this year is to expand the number of airline routes.
"More flights from various Chinese cities to Malaysia will be introduced this year, potentially surpassing the number of flights in 2019 if the connecting flights go smoothly," he stated in an interview.
China has long been a significant tourist market for Malaysia, and Tiong stated that the government is concentrating on growing prospects for the sector here.
To draw visitors from all over the world, he continued, the ministry intends to advertise and assist a range of tourism packages provided by regional companies, such as durian carnivals, fishing excursions, golf and island tours, and medical tourism.
The ministry believes that during durian season, owners of durian orchards can showcase the flavor of fresh Musang King durians, enabling visitors to savor the freshest durians at the orchards.
There are still a lot of unexplored islands and stunning seashores in Sabah and Sarawak. We may advertise fishing excursions.
He continued, "Medical tourism is also a major tourism product that we are actively promoting, enabling foreigners to travel to Malaysia for vacations and medical check-ups."
The Muslim tourism market is another area the ministry is actively investigating, he said, adding that Deputy Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan is leading the charge on creating travel packages that cater to Muslims and encouraging cross-cultural interactions between Malaysian and Chinese Muslims.
Malaysia is a Muslim-friendly nation, and the ministry is dedicated to establishing an Umrah Hub for the region there. Furthermore, Tiong stated that a chartered flight from Urumqi to KL is expected to begin operating in May or, at the latest, July of this year.
He also conveyed optimism that the ministry will be able to bring in 1.5 million Muslim visitors from China this year with this campaign.
Tiong reported a rise in Chinese and Indian tourists visiting Malaysia after a 30-day visa-free access was implemented in December of last year.
In November of last year, 124,000 tourists from China and 52,000 from India visited Malaysia. With 168,000 Chinese visitors and 84,000 Indian visitors arriving in December of last year, these numbers did, however, dramatically increase month over month, growing by 35.1% and 60.9%, respectively.
According to him, Malaysia hopes to bring in 30 million visitors this year, having accomplished its goal of 26 million visits the previous year.
Tiong stated that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is actively investigating and having discussions with Chinese officials regarding the possibility of a permanent reciprocal visa waiver for citizens of both Malaysia and China in answer to questions about whether the Malaysian government is advocating for this.
"Given that Thailand and Singapore have effectively negotiated such agreements with China, I am hopeful that Malaysia can attain the same reciprocal visa waiver status," he stated.
