According to figures from the Ministry of Tourism, 4.38 million foreign tourists landed in Malaysia in the first quarter of 2023. The ambitious goal would be to attract 16.1 million visitors from Asia and Europe by the end of the year, generating revenue of about 10,000 million euros. There are several active government programs for this purpose.
Kuala Lumpur () – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently announced his intention to authorize charter tourist flights, after the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) unveiled a plan in February – the Tourism Recovery Program 2023- to reactivate the country’s tourism industry, which has been in crisis since the Covid-19 pandemic. According to ministry figures, 4.38 million foreign tourists landed in Malaysia in the first quarter of 2023. The goal would be to attract 16.1 million foreign tourists by the end of the year, generating revenue of RM 49.2 billion. (about 10,000 million euros).
MOTAC Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing stated that he had requested the cooperation of the Ministry of Finance from other ministries to bring visitors from across Asia and Europe back to Malaysia after the drop in tourist inflows in recent years. three years. Minister Tiong further explained that the program will allow for the granting of tourist visas upon arrival, multiple entry visas, electronic visas and transit visas. The MOTAC initiative aims high, but it remains to be seen if it will reach its goals by the end of 2023. Without a doubt, Kuala Lumpur has already left behind the movement control measures it applied during the health crisis.
According to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, tourism is the third largest source of income, after manufacturing and commodity trading. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism had grown to reach 15.9% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Currently, the national tourism policy 2020-2030 also includes a plan for “agile” tourism, called Malaysia Smart Tourism 4.0, which was originally launched in 2018. Through access to information technology-based tourism products and services and telecommunications, aims to increase revenue from $25 billion today to $110 billion by the end of the decade.
Another way to attract foreigners to Malaysia, reported in recent weeks by the New Straits Times, it could consist of the return of the program “Malaysia, my second home” (or MM2H) to MOTAC. Groups in favor of this change argue that most wealthy foreigners seeking residency abroad avoid Malaysia because its requirements are too stringent and its visa regulations too rigid. MOTAC, by contrast, could ease these requirements by aligning them with the policies of other Southeast Asian countries.
MOTAC also offers several programs for foreigners, such as “voluntourism”, which involves participating in volunteer activities in Malaysia; that of “agrotourism”, which consists of staying on farms and visiting agricultural research centers; and the one of “kampungstay“, which is about staying in a kampung (traditional village) to experience the life of Malaysians in rural areas. In 1995, the country launched for the first time the Malaysia Homestay Experience Program (MHEP) to accommodate tourists even in regions inhabited by farming and fishing communities. As of February 2022, there were more than 200 accommodations available in more than 300 villages, with more than 40,000 host families offering 6,000 rooms across Malaysia. After the pandemic, which reduced the influx of visitors, attempts are being made to reactivate this program as well. on the website of jomhomestay accommodation can be found for a price ranging from 120 to 500 ringgit per night (about 25-100 euros).
