Malaysia will redirect its marketing efforts to domestic tourists and other markets as arrivals from coronavirus-hit China fall.
The recently launched "Visit Malaysia 2020" campaign was meant to rev up the country's economy which struggles through quite a tough period. With tourism accounting for 11.8 percent of Malaysia's gross domestic product, last year the country welcomed 28 million visitors out of which 11 percent were Chinese travellers.
A temporary ban imposed on visitors from China in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus, jeopardises Malaysia's plans to reach the target on tourist arrivals.
Government agency Tourism Malaysia said they had a "quick win" strategy of ramping up promotions in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia in order to boost in-bound tourism. Tourists from fellow Southeast Asian countries and India are expected to become the biggest contributors to the visitors tally. Also, the agency is going to encourage locals to travel domestically to stimulate the economy and compensate the losses due to the decline in foreign tourists.
Malaysia Bets on Local and Non-Chinese Visitors to Reach Tourism Target
News in Asia
While this year puts challenges for the tourism industry worldwide and in Asia in particular, Malaysia expects to meet its target of a record 30 million tourists in 2020.