2020 to be Malaysia-China Tourism Year
Published on: Friday, November 16, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: China and Malaysia have agreed to announce year 2020 as the Malaysia-China Cultural Tourism Year, said Zarina Dolah Judin, Tourism Consul attached with the Consulate General of Malaysia in China. China is still seeking cooperation with tourism and airlines services from Malaysia through regular and charter flights. Zarina said in order to attract more tourists from Malaysia to travel to mainland China and vice versa, better facilities and services should be available as well as more attractive amenities to increase the number of visitors."We also welcome Chinese industry professionals to strengthen cooperation and jointly promote the 2020 Malaysian Cultural Tourism Year," she said.ADVERTISEMENT In fact when we have strong partnership in this tourism fraternity where tour operators, travel agents and product operators play their roles well, it will increase product value and create positive impact in the tourism business, she said.This, it is a great platform to promote Malaysia-China cooperation. She was speaking at the visit of 40 Matta members during their visit to Shanghai and Hangzhou for a tourism business exchange meet recently. Matta was led by its Chairman Lawrence Chin.She said more importantly, it established a communication platform between the two countries for further collaboration, cooperation and potential partnership.ADVERTISEMENT Industry players would provide more business opportunities, increase product value, and promote both countries in terms of culture, etc she added.She confirmed that there are currently 85 scheduled flights to Malaysia, with 22,185 seats per week serving Eastern China and Malaysia.
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"This year we have launched seven in cooperation with four Chinese travel agencies and three airlines in the online and offline promotion activities, and this is under the National Key Economic Zone (NKEA). Hopefully, more will choose Malaysia as their preferred holiday destination."She noted Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad's recent visit and said it would carry out more effective cooperation in tourism and further promote the China Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road initiative. During the visit, both countries recognised the strategic importance of tourism in promoting cultural exchange and sustainable social and economic growth and mutual understanding.More events would be organised in future with the Malaysian tourism industry to provide visitors an unforgettable experience. However, she stressed that all tourist facilities should continue to be upgraded to ensure comfort and well-being of visitors. According to a survey conducted by CNN Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, was ranked as the world's fourth-largest shopping city, and Malaysia is also the fourth-best country to retire in the world.She said according to the World Trade Organization's forecast, 200 million Chinese tourists would travel abroad in 2020, and the growth would affect the world's economy, especially in Asean and Malaysia."Wherever you go in Malaysia, you will find yourself surrounded by beautiful sights, pleasant climate, historical sights and natural heritage, architecture, etc."She said Malaysia has a multi-ethnic way of living together, different races maintain their respective traditional values and live in peace and harmony. She said being rich in culture and exotic heritage, it boosted the uniqueness of Malaysia way of living hence, could attract more tourists to come and experience staying in Malaysia."The number of tourists from China ranked third after Singapore and Indonesia. In 2017, Malaysia welcomed 2.28 million Chinese tourists, an increase of 7.4pc compared to 2016," she confirmed.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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In April 2018, Malaysia received 18,998 Chinese tourists, an increase of 37.2pc compared with the same period of last year. "We can attract Chinese tourists to visit our country because we have wide range of tourism products ranging from rainforests, islands and scenic beaches, shopping complexes, food, etc." - Lorena Binisol