MATTA welcomes visa fee waiver for Chinese tourists
KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Association Of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) welcomes the proposal by Tourism and Culture Minister Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz to waive visa fees for Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia.
This is indeed a sign of a great leader who listens to the voice of the industry. MATTA President Haji Hamzah Rahmat has been calling on visa exemption recently due to declining Chinese visitor arrivals to Malaysia, said Matta Inbound Vice President, Datuk KL Tan.
While the stakeholders of the tourism industry have make concerted efforts to lure back Chinese tourists to Malaysia, Tan urged the Ministry of Home Affairs in charge of visa approvals to seriously look into this matter. Tan said Tourism Malaysia, Sabah Tourism Board, Sarawak Tourism Board and various state tourism boards together with travel agents have all come up with recovery plans, it is time for the Home Ministry to act.
Tan said that in an effort to lure back Chinese tourists, tourism authorities have come up with familiarization trips, promotional sales trips, social media advertisement and promotional tour package rates amongst other plans. Airlines and hotels have also joined in the efforts with attractive air fares and hotel accommodation.
What is lacking is the final boost or ingredient which is the visa exemption or visa fees waiver to complement the efforts made by the tourism industry in order to stay competitive in the region, said Tan.
"With an estimated average spending of RM4,000 per head in Malaysia, we stand to lose over billions of ringgit in the absence of Chinese tourist arrivals causing adverse effects to economies revolving around tourism and leisure," added Tan.
The arrival of China tourists to Sabah went down by 37 per cent from May to August this year compared to 143,356 visitors during the same period last year. For the whole of Malaysia, Chinese tourist arrivals dropped significantly in May and June, which registered -35% year on year growth compared to the same period last year.
Countries that offered visa fee waiver schemes for Chinese tourists such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines have recorded tourist growth. Tourists must feel welcome before visiting and would shy away from countries that are not tourist-friendly, added Tan.
Granted, unfortunate incidents such as MH370 and Sabah kidnappings are difficult and beyond our control, he said.
But surely, relaxing visa requirements for China tourists from now until December 2015 should be a no-brainer for the authorities to act swiftly. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, other countries have proven successful through varied visa exemption schemes, added Tan.