SHAH ALAM: To date, Malaysia has managed to attract more than a million tourists, more than half of the target of 2 million international tourists set by the government this year since the border opened on April 1, said Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
She said most of the total was from Singapore and many more tourists from Japan, Iran and Korea are expected to arrive in Malaysia.
“In the past two months, we have received about 600,000 tourists from Singapore and I currently feel like we have surpassed 1 million tourists from Singapore alone,” she said at a press conference following the launch of the FireFly Airlines jet livery and the #GoJalanLah campaign here. today. .
“There are also tourists from other countries, but we cannot provide exact figures as we are still waiting for feedback from the relevant parties, but suffice it to say that we have achieved more than half of what we set our sights on,” she said.
She said they believe tourist-friendly Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) have the potential to attract more foreign tourists to Malaysia.
“People like our SOP because there are no mandatory quarantines, Covid-19 screening tests, and insurance, and tourists have to do it,” she said.
Nancy said the country’s tourism industry is still facing a shortage of workers after being hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Some hotel workers are afraid to return to work due to the uncertainty, so there may be another closure,” she said.
In addition, she said her ministry has yet to receive any confirmation of hotels that have been forced to close due to the impact of the pandemic, but there are indications that some hotels have been temporarily closed for renovations and some hotels have been repurposed.
On #GojJalanLah, she said the campaign was a smart partnership between Firefly and Tourism Malaysia to support the government’s efforts to promote domestic tourism.
The #GoJalanLah advertising campaign offers flights and hotel stays with up to 35% discounts. Reservations are available through www.fireflyz.com.my until June 30, 2022 for travel until December 31, 2022 — Burnama
