malaysiangKOTA BHARU, March 24 (Bernama) — Tourists from European countries especially the United Kingdom (UK) are showing great interest to visit Malaysia when the country’s borders reopen from April 1.
Tourism Malaysia Domestic and Event senior director Iskandar Mirza Mohd Yusof said the reopening of the country’s borders also received positive reactions from tourists from India and neighbouring countries like Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.
He said, however, tourist arrivals may not be as high as the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period as some countries still do not allow their citizens to travel.
“So, we will receive the tourists in stages…maybe from the European countries especially the UK which allows its citizens to travel abroad and foreigners to visit their country.
“Over the past month, we have received many inquiries from European tourists via social media,” he told a press conference after officiating at the MATTA Fair Kelantan 2022 with the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) deputy president Mohd Akil Mohd Yusof also present.
Meanwhile, Mohd Akil said the reopening of the country’s borders from April 1 would help achieve the target of two million tourist arrivals in Malaysia this year.
“During the implementation of the Langkawi international travel bubble, the majority of tourists were from European countries. Now, tourists from Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the Middle East are also showing interest to visit Malaysia.
“Insya Allah, all MATTA members are ready to welcome tourists and in fact, the two million tourist arrival target can be achieved,” he said.
Apart from that, Mohd Akil said MATTA and Tourism Malaysia also hoped that international airlines would resume and increase the frequency of flights to the country.
“This is crucial because some airlines have reduced the frequency of flights during the COVID-19 pandemic period. For example, there are no direct flights from India to Malaysia at the moment, so tourists travelling to Malaysia have to go to Dubai before continuing their journey to Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
