Published on : Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Despite the twin airplane tragedies in 2014, Malaysia tourism is thriving and visitor numbers had their strongest growth in years.
Although complete data for 2014 haven’t been released yet, the government’s January-October data shows 22.9 million visitors coming to Malaysia, a jump of nearly 10 percent from a year earlier.
The strong growth in tourism came despite a sharp 11 percent drop for January-October in visitors from China, which had 153 nationals on Flight 370.
It remained Malaysia’s third biggest source of visitors.
Arrivals from India were up 21 percent and the number of South Koreans visiting increased by 43 percent.
There was also strong growth from Western nations such as the United Kingdom, U.S., Australia and Germany.
Malaysia Airlines tragedies put the global spotlight on Malaysia and seemingly dealt a blow to its tourism strategy.
A weaker currency in the last quarter of the year, cheaper air travel and more numerous flights, primarily due to the expansion of low-cost carriers in the region helped drive tourism in Malaysia.
Malaysia has extended its tourism campaign, designating 2015 as “Year of Festivals” with a goal to attract 29.4 million tourists and 89 billion ringgit ($24.7 billion) in total receipts.
Malaysia government waived visa fees for Chinese tourists last month.
However tour agents urged the government to allow two week visa-free travel for Chinese visitors to help the market recover faster.
Malaysia’s tourism industry still relies heavily on Singapore and in a renewed push the government had designated 2014 as “Visit Malaysia Year.
” The aim of the campaign, with the endangered pot-bellied proboscis monkey as its mascot, was to entice 28 million visitors and 76 billion ringgit ($21.1 billion) in spending.
Tags: Malaysia tourism
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