According to figures from last October, the country saw visitor arrivals dipping into the negative, posting a 2.5% decline, and welcoming a total of 21,504,930 from January to October compared to 22,056,417 for the same period in 2016.
While ASEAN has turned in a record year for tourism as it turned 50 last year, Malaysia has struggled to perform similarly well.
With the effects from the missing MH370 still lingering, the country has been struggling to find its footing and has been investing in publicity and promotion to “address the short setback”, said Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab director general of Tourism Malaysia during a media briefing at the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF).
According to figures from last October, the country saw visitor arrivals dipping into the negative, posting a 2.5% decline; the country welcomed a total of 21,504,930 from January to October compared to 22,056,417 for the same period in 2016.
Yet, some optimism grows: the country has seen a 1.6% growth in tourism receipts, which has injected RM61.5 billion (US$15.8 billion) into the economy. Room nights have also inched up by 1.1%.
Last year, Singapore topped the list of country arrivals with 10.2 million visitors–a drop of 6.6%, followed by Indonesia with 2.3 million (-5.9%), China (+8.1%), Thailand (+4.2%) and Brunei (+26.6%).
The country is banking on a raft of new tourism developments set to arrive this year to drive up arrivals. It has set sights on attracting a total of 33.1 million tourists and RM134 billion receipts for 2018, and will focus on travel segments such as family as well as the diving, cruise, health and education segments.
The arrival of large-scale developments such as Desaru Coast, an integrated premium resort, from June onwards, will add the largest wave pool to South-east Asia as well as the region’s first water coaster. Luxury hotel brands including The Westin Desaru Coast Resort, Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast and Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas will also be opening their doors in the integrated resort.
The 20th Century Fox World Malaysia theme park will open its doors in Genting Highlands in Pahang while Perak will be welcoming the Movie Animation Park Studios and see the expansion of the Lost World of Tambun theme park. Various premium outlet malls will also be opening around the country.
The country is also extending its trade outreach efforts into Europe with the signing of brand partnerships with ITB Berlin for 2019 and as ECTAA Preferred Destination Partner for 2018.
Air accessibility will also be beefed up through various airline partnerships for scheduled and charter flights. The newest signing with Germany’s Condor Air, which will see Frankfurt-KL connections beginning November this year.
Other airline partnerships are with Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Malindo Air, KLM and Singapore Airlines. The partnership with Singapore Airlines will expand the country’s air links to cities in the US and Europe, while the South Asia market will be covered by the partnership with Malindo Air.
Looking forward, these efforts will add momentum for the scheduled Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2020 campaign, which is expected to bring in 36 million tourists, and RM168 billion in tourist receipts.
The campaign will promote Malaysia by highlighting the “Travel, Enjoy and Respect” tagline, in line with the National Eco-Tourism Plan 2016-2025.