The regional tour operators of Malaysia are recently witnessing a rush in the number of tourists from China. A large number of tourists have been visiting this nation thus weekend for the Chinese New Year celebrations.
Albert Tan Sam Soon who is the president of the Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association said that several tourists from China have been leveraging the event of the long holiday thanks to the Chinese New Year. This is one of the major reasons that they are making a beeline for Malaysia.
The sudden surge in the number of tourists from China has compelled many tour agencies of Malaysia to arrange for temporary tour guide passes to deal with the visitors in a healthy way, said Sam Soon.
The president also added that the top favorite destinations for the Chinese tourists who have been arriving of late include Sarawak, Sabah, Johor Bahru, Langkawi, Malacca and Penang.
Tan said that the sudden increase in tourist arrivals can be attributed to the introduction of more flight routes between Malaysia and the major towns in China.
The implementation of electronic travel resignation and e-visa that has been launched by the government since March last year has also been a crucial factor that has gone a long way in drawing more tourists from the country of China, he feels.
He went on to add that the tourism and culture industry of the country was also a factor in attracting tourists.
According to Tan, the association has 800 members in Sabah, Johor Bahru, Perak and Penang.
He expected that about four million tourists had come from China to Malaysia this year. A media report has said that as much as 2.2 million Chinese nationals had visited Malaysia between March and December last year, from just 1.2 million during the corresponding period in 2015.
In the year 2015, tourists from China had spent about RMT 5.7 billion during their stay in this country.
