M'sia's Tourism Sector Not Affected By Terrorist Threats

IPOH, April 1 (Bernama) -- The fear of terrorism which is sweeping across the world is not affecting the tourism sector in the country, says Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

He said inspite of that fear, Malaysia continued to be popular among international tourists.

"If we look at terror threats, not a single country is spared. It is not right to say that only Malaysia faces terrorist threats as Brussels and Paris are also targets," he said.

He was speaking to reporters after officiating Destination Perak office at the Technology Trade Centre here today.

Also present were Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and Tourism Malaysia director-general, Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab.

In another development, Mohamed Nazri said the arrival of international tourist in Malaysia for the first three months this year was encouraging despite the El Nino phenomenon.

He added the government was targeting 30.5 million international tourist arrivals this year, with an estimated RM103 billion contribution to the national income.

"In 2014, the country earned RM72 billion with the arrival of 27.4 million tourists while last year, a total of 25.7 million tourists visited the country, contributing RM69.1 billion in earnings," he said.

Meanwhile at another event, Mohamed Nazri said taxi drivers must find ways to improve on their services if they wished to continue to be the consumers' choice.

He said blaming GrabCar and Uber for the drop in their income was not justified as the online taxi service was actually offering the best service.

"I support Uber, GrabCar because they are innovative, technology-driven schemes providing comfort to consumers.

"In this ministry, what is important is consumer welfare. Consumer is king. You cannot stop Uber if their service makes the public happy," he said in a dialogue session with tourism industry players at the Amanjaya Convention Centre here.
-bernama.