Tourism Ministry targets 25mil tourist arrivals this year

RAUB: The Tourism Ministry wants 25 million tourists to visit the country this year, up from 24 million last year, with a projected tourism revenue of RM60bil. Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said that in order to achieve the target, her ministry would continue efforts to woo more visitors to visit Malaysia. She said the efforts included continuing discussions with local and foreign airlines to provide more direct flights to major towns in the country.

"We may be able to meet the target by increasing the number of flights from abroad to the major towns like Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Penang or Malacca," she told reporters after attending a Chinese New year programme organised by the Tourism Ministry at Dataran Raub, here Saturday night. Dr Ng, who is also the Member of Parliament for Raub, hoped that this year, there would be more tourists who stayed up to 10 days and, therefore, spending more in the country. She said the ministry was targeting tourists from Russia, India, China, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Belgium, Holland and the Middle East.

- Bernama