Proposal to woo back tourists from China

KUALA LUMPUR: Waiving visas would be the right move to increase the number of tourists from China, said Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Hamzah Rahmat.

This would also be a much needed shotin-the-arm for the country’s ailing tourism industry, especially with the depreciation of the ringgit, he added.

“The number of Chinese tourists plunged 27.1% in the first quarter of 2015, compared to the same period last year. Obviously, Malaysia’s loss is other countries’ gain,” he said yesterday in response to a local news report quoting Umno Youth executive committee member Armizan Mohd Ali as saying, the move to waive visas for Chinese tourists was not the right approach to increase their numbers to visit the country.

The report also quoted Immigration Department enforcement director Zahari Abdul Aziz as saying, the move might boost Chinese tourist arrivals but there were some who came here to work and caused social ills.

Hamzah said: “Why some quarters are paranoid about social ills when countries around the world welcome Chinese visitors with open arms.

“Anyone who is overly concerned about social ills should first scrutinise ‘the elephant in the room’, and that is the millions of undocumented workers in the country.

“In contrast, only 1,493 Chinese tourists were found to have overstayed last year and 612 involved in immoral activities. It is a miniscule figure against the 1,613,355 Chinese that visited Malaysia in 2014.

“Chinese tourists are the world’s biggest spenders and they are known to empty the shelves of luxury stores in London, Paris, Rome and New York,” he said. – Bernama