KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 (Bernama) -- The number of tourist arrivals rose 10.1 per cent to 11.5 million during the first five months of 2014, despite a drop in the number of tourists from China following the MH370 incident in March this year.
The Economic Report 2014-2015 released Friday, noted the top three tourist arrivals to be from Singapore (5.8 million), Indonesia (1.1 million) and China (0.7 million).
On March 8, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens while it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The Boeing 777 aircraft has yet to be found, even after an exhaustive search in the southern Indian Ocean where it is believed to have gone down after veering off course. The search continues.
Meanwhile, Malaysia remains a favourite holiday destination among Muslim tourists, with arrivals increasing 9.4 per cent to 2.2 million during the first five months of 2014. Malaysia's rankings as the world's second halal-friendly holiday destination and the world's second halal-friendly shopping destination have helped to draw Muslim tourists.
The report said that during the first seven months of 2014, the 'Malaysia My Second Home' (MM2H) programme attracted 1,958 participants, mainly from China (49 per cent), Japan (12 per cent) and Bangladesh (nine per cent).
"In the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) sector, the number of visitors is expected to reach 196,708 from 298 events, generating RM1.5 billion in receipts in 2014," it said.
It added that a sum of RM65.5 million was allocated for tourism programmes and as of August 2014, RM32.5 million had been spent when the government undertook intensive domestic and international promotional programmes, including the Formula 1 Petronas Grand Prix and KL International Tattoo 2014.
-bernama.
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