In the Name of Truth and Accountability
Masterwordsmith
I wonder why the Tourism Ministry has been on a public relations blitz for the past few days. Do consider the following articles:
1. Feb 5th The Star Tourism Ministry aiming for RM61bil spending target
Summarized key points:
The Tourism Ministry will work to increase direct flights from more countries as it pushes to meet its tourist spending target of RM61bil this year, said its minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.
Dr Ng said her ministry had exceeded the RM55bil tourist spending target set under its Key Performance Indicator (KPI) last year and would be coming up with various strategies to meet the RM61bil set for it this year.
She said the ministry would work to expand existing markets and open new ones to meet the target but one of the problems it faced was the lack of accessibility.
Dr Ng said the ministry would also be focusing on attracting long stay visitors especially from Europe and for this it would come up with events that would help draw them to Malaysia.
She said the Cabinet had agreed to waive the need for visas for Taiwanese visitors to help attract more tourists from that country while the number of tourists from China was expected to continue to grow this year.
The main markets for Malaysia in the Middle East were Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, she added.
2. Feb 6th The Star Tourism Ministry targets 25mil tourist arrivals this year based on a press statement from Bernama
Summarized points:
The Tourism Ministry wants 25 million tourists to visit the country this year, up from 24 million last year, with a projected tourism revenue of RM60bil.
To achieve the target, her ministry would continue efforts to woo more visitors to visit Malaysia.
She said the efforts included continuing discussions with local and foreign airlines to provide more direct flights to major towns in the country like Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Penang or Malacca.
She said the ministry was targeting tourists from Russia, India, China, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Belgium, Holland and the Middle East.
3. Feb 7th The Star Ministry targets 25 million tourists with airport upgrade
The Tourism Ministry is optimistic that the country could achieve its target of 25 million foreign tourist arrivals generating RM60bil in revenue.
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said this was because access to Malaysia would be easier with the upgrading of several international airports as well as more flights.
“We also want big spenders who will stay here longer, for at least eight days,’’ Dr Ng said after attending a Chinese New Year celebration here on Saturday night.
Dr Ng said last year the Ministry had met the goal of 24 million foreign tourists, generating tourism revenue of RM55bil.
“These figures are very encouraging and we expect to achieve the target despite many challenges this year,” she said.
Dr Ng said the country received the most number of foreign tourists from New Zealand, Australia, and European countries.
“The number of tourists from the Middle East was not that high, which is why we are not too affected by the crisis in Egypt,’’ she said.
Dr Ng hoped that major airlines would provide more direct flights to major towns like Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Penang and Malacca.
