ISTANBUL, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz hopes students abroad can play an important role in promoting the country during Visit Malaysia Year 2014 (VMY 2014).
He said as Malaysian "ambassadors', they should be more active in promoting the country's tourism products and attractions. "This is our mission...you have to persuade your friends to visit Malaysia next year. We must propagate that visiting Malaysia is cheap with the best hospitality," he told about 40 Malaysian students here during a dialogue session Tuesday night.
He is currently on a mission to promote VMY2014 in Turkey, Romania and London until Nov 5.
Nazri said Malaysia received 9,909 tourists from Turkey last year and would be expecting 10,300 this year and 11,000 in 2014. There are currently seven flights a week from Istanbul to Kuala Lumpur with four flights by Turkish Airways and three by Malaysia Airlines (MAS). "I am confident we will get more Turkish tourists to visit Malaysia next year," he added.
Nazri said Malaysia received 25.03 million tourists with tourism revenue totalling RM60.6 billion last year and would be expecting some 28 million tourists in 2014.
He said apart from Kuala Lumpur being the fourth best shopping city in the world after New York, Tokyo and London in a CNN global news survey, Malaysia was ranked 10th as the most popular tourism destination in the world, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and ranked 14th in international tourism receipts of RM60.6 billion.
"Istanbul is the 7th most popular city in the world. In terms of history and architecture here, we are behind them but we (Malaysia) have more unique features that can attract tourists from Turkey and other countries to visit our country. "That is why, together, we should promote Malaysia more aggressively to ensure our targets are met," Nazri said.
-bernama.
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