Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) hopes that the government will allocate RM1 billion for the tourism, arts and culture ministry (Motac) in the 2024 Budget.
Its president Nigel Wong said this should be separate from the operational budget as advertising and promotions will cost more due to weak currency,” he said.
The bulk of the allocations, he said, should go to promotions as well as to incentivise tourism stakeholders through matching grants, financial assistance and tourism infrastructure.
Wong said Malaysia should implement visa-free arrivals to boost Chinese tourists’ arrival in the country and other aggressive tourism-friendly policies to boost the tourism industry.
“We are in fierce competition for Chinese tourists as other destinations in the region are also vying for a share of the lucrative market. They are stepping up their efforts to attract them,” he said.
Thailand, for example, was reportedly offering visa-free entry from Sep 25 until Feb 29 next year to boost its Chinese tourist arrivals, which account for the last percentage of Thailand’s visitors.
Wong added that it projected the international arrivals to reach 20 million next year, if issues of lack of skilled manpowers and tourists’ perceptions could be addressed.
Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Dr Ammar Abd Ghapar had said in July that it estimates the number of international visitors could return to pre-Covid 19 levels by 2025, adding Malaysia aims to attract 16.1 million international tourists that are expected to bring in RM49.2 billion in receipts.
In 2019, before Covid-19 shut down all travel, Malaysia received 26.1 million international visitors who brought in RM86.1 billion in revenue, according to Tourism Malaysia statistics.
