Malaysia aims to be among the world’s top 10 tourist destinations in 2019, said Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi.

Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur (Photo: kuala-lumpur.ws)

Straits Times quoted Mohamaddin as saying that the ministry has undertaken several efforts to promote Malaysia as a must-visit destination and will set new strategic directions to provide a conducive environment for industry players to drive and boost tourism growth.

“It is our aim to improve the country’s position after being ranked number 12 last year. We must be more competitive internationally,” he said.

“We will have good cooperation between federal and state governments to promote Malaysia and discuss with local airlines companies to have more direct flights to Malaysia,” he added.

He said the tourism industry in Malaysia has grown significantly and is targeting a foreign tourist arrival goal of 26.4 million with a total expenditure of 84.9 billion RM this year.

From January to April 2018, Malaysia recorded 8.4 million international tourists, an increase of 37.2% from China, India (21.2%), the Republic of Korea (26.5%), Canada (28%) and the US (23%).

(Source: VNA)