JEDDAH, 27 December 2006 — Malaysia hopes to attract at least 100,000 Saudi visitors next year, Tourism Malaysia official said at the unveiling of the “Visit Malaysia 2007” campaign logo Monday night.
“We’re focused on Saudi vacationers as they account among the highest spenders in the world,” Zalizam Zakaria, Tourism Malaysia director (overseas), Middle East and North Africa, said at a function attended by travel agents at the Jeddah Le Meridien Hotel.
Malaysia had received 52,000 Saudi visitors in 2005 and the figure is expected to increase to 60,000 by 2006-end. “We’re targeting 20.1 million visitors from all over the world in 2007, an increase from 17.5 million set for 2006,” he said.
While Malaysia Tourism is working with travel agencies and airlines to boost its tourist traffic during the year — which also marks the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence — several tour packages will be offered to families and vacationers.“Saudis are issued visas on arrival in Malaysia for a three-month stay. For other nationals, the Malaysian embassy and the consulate issue visas within 12 to 24 hours,” Zakaria said.
The campaign will be launched in Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 1. Malaysia will roll out the red carpet to woo more tourists in a $56 million, year-long drive to further diversify its manufacturing-led economy.
“The Southeast Asian nation has altogether planned 200 special events that will help lure a record 20.1 million tourists in the ‘Visit Malaysia Year’ campaign,” Zakaria said. If successful, arrival figures will be around 15 percent higher compared to 2006.
Malaysia will showcase yearlong events, including floral parades and displaying a used Russian space shuttle, during the campaign. Some of the other events across the country include federal territory day, Langkawi Tour, Open Golf Championship, Chinese New Year celebration, Taman Negara eco-challenge, Petronas Malaysian F1 grand Prix, royal go-kart competition, arts festival, national water festival, colors of Malaysia, lantern festival, dragon boat festival, aerospace exhibition and a mega-sale carnival.
A multi-racial country of palm-fringed beaches and virgin jungles, Malaysia hopes to attract visitors mainly from Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East, Southeast Asia, China and India. The predicted influx would help offset the decline in the number of high-spending American and European tourists.
Tourism is Malaysia’s largest foreign-exchange earner after manufacturing, which accounts for 31 percent of the economy. It forms part of the overall services sector, which makes up 58 percent of the economy. Malaysia is expected to earn 44.5 billion ringgit ($12.54 billion) in tourism income in 2007, up 17 percent from 2006.