Tourism Malaysia Plans To Set Up Office In Kolkata

NEW DELHI, Feb 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia planned to set up a tourism office in Kolkata to increase visitors from India's eastern region, Tourism and Culture, Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said.

He cited Amritsar in Punjab as another city where Tourism Malaysia might consider opening an office.

The move is part of Malaysia's efforts to attract more tourists from second-tier cities in India amid strong outbound travel growth.

"We have tourism offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. We want to increase our presence in India. We are now looking at Kolkata," Mohamed Nazri told Bernama after inaugurating the Malaysian stand at South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) in New Delhi on Wednesday.

With AirAsia flying twice daily between Kolkata and Kuala Lumpur, the regional office will help in boosting tourist arrivals from West Bengal and neighbouring states.

Mohamed Nazri said the Malaysian government last year introduced an e-visa facility that would encourage more Indians to travel to Malaysia.

Also, non-resident Indians will be able to travel to Malaysia visa-free, a move that is expected to bring in more Indian tourists from Arabian Gulf countries, North America and places with significant expatriate Indian population.

Tourism Malaysia is focused on expanding presence in countries that are showing high growth potential.

It closed its offices in New York, Milan, Perth, Johannesburg and Stockholm when Malaysia Airlines discontinued its flights to the destinations.

"After MAS closed those routes, we had no reason to be there," the minister said.

China, India, Britain, Japan and South Korea are among Malaysia's top focus markets this year.

-Bernama