Malaysia is welcoming back visitors from the Middle East after two years of pandemic closures, with businesses in the tourism sector expecting to attract especially those who arrive for family holidays.

Malaysia’s tourism ministry has been ramping up its promotional activities in a bid to attract 2 million international visitors this year following the reopening of the country’s borders in April to allow quarantine-free travel.

“We’ve just participated in Arabian Travel Market, and we’ve seen how keen they are to travel,” Mohmed Razip Hajji Hasan, director-general of the Islamic Tourism Center, an entity under the Ministry of Tourism, told Arab News.

“People are looking to experience travel again, and our industry players can take advantage of the reopening of borders to attract this niche market known for their longer stays and higher spending habits.”

The coronavirus pandemic brought the Malaysian tourism industry to a standstill and this year’s target is over 10 times lower than the 26.1 million arrivals it saw in 2019.

Malaysia is popular with visitors from the Middle East and has been ranking as a top destination in the Global Muslim Travel Index since 2015.

To further develop a welcoming environment for Mideast travelers, Hasan said that the ministry is working with airlines, tour operators and hoteliers to offer privacy and safe spaces for families.

Omar Hameed, manager at the Al-Diuf Al-Arabia Tourism and Travel agency, said that he is positive Malaysian tourism will start picking up by next month, the end of the school season in many Middle Eastern countries. Many visitors from the region do not need visas to enter the country.

“It will be peak tourism season for Malaysia by then as most Middle Eastern families will want to have their vacation here,” he told Arab News. “It is not as crowded as in Indonesia.”

But some in the hospitality business say that the country still has issues to address in order to be a comfortable destination.

“Many people love Malaysia, but unfortunately some of the small things need to be corrected,” said Alaa A., owner of Hadramot House, a restaurant that serves Yemeni food in Bukit Bintang — an upscale shopping district in Kuala Lumpur, which is popular among visitors from the Middle East.

He cited the problems tourists face with taxi drivers, who often refuse to use meters and seek to charge much higher fixed fares.

Before the global pandemic, Malaysia received about 400,000 visitors from the Middle East in 2019. Travelers from Saudi Arabia topped the arrivals, accounting for a quarter of the visits.

Even though the tourism industry is still picking up the pace, Arab News was able to meet Saudi tourists in the Malaysian capital.

Wisam and her husband Basil said that they have been traveling across Malaysia for the past two weeks and found it easy to explore the country.

“We have been to Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi Island, Penang Island and Genting Highlands. We enjoyed it,” Wisam said. “It is my first trip to Malaysia and it is beautiful.”