Hello Everyone,

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said is confident that
Malaysia will attract 22.5 million tourists this year despite the
current global economic downturn that has affected the industry in
several countries.

Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said stated that compared to neighbouring
countries, Malaysia still had much to offer at highly competitive and
affordable prices. "We are better off than our immediate neighbours
in this current situation as tourist arrivals have not declined
significantly. In fact, year-to-date as at end-September, we had a
4.4% increase in arrivals." per the Edge Daily.

Last year, Malaysia received some 20.97 million tourists who spent
RM46.1 billion. Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said expects receipts to
increase to about RM51 billion this year. "Tourist spending is still
very much the same, be it locals or foreigners. There has been not
much of a decline. If we in our business do things properly, we will
do well.

"We do not discriminate between foreigners and locals when it comes
to pricing of goods and services, and this is among the factors that
keep drawing foreign tourists to Malaysia," the Minister said.
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said tourism
would continue to be one of the country's premier industries as it
was a sustainable, high-value and high-performing sector which must
continue to be strengthened.

Echoing Datuk Seri Najib Razak's views, Azalina said her Ministry
would adopt the necessary strategies to ensure that the tourism
industry flourished. She stated the ministry was embarking on a three-
pronged strategy to boost tourism activities and increase arrivals
and receipts.

"We want to increase domestic tourist activities to act as a buffer,
in case there is a decline in foreign tourists. We can also encourage
locals to spend more here than abroad. "The other plan we have is to
define Singapore as a domestic market. The country is by far our most
important target market, as a substantial number of arrivals are from
there. Singaporeans' shopping and travelling habits are similar to
Malaysians, so it makes sense to include them as domestic tourists,"
the Minister said.

Azalina said the third strategy was to emphasise on niche travel
markets like eco-tourism. "We have jewels in Sabah and Sarawak that
have plenty to offer those interested in eco-tourism. Sabah has
shortfall now in hotel rooms and this would be a good opportunity for
operators to look seriously into investing in these two states," she
said.

Regarding questions whether the current global financial turmoil
would affect the local tourism industry in the coming months, Datuk
Seri Azalina Othman Said stated she was confident that Malaysia would
remain a better option for domestic tourists.

She said people here could still afford to spend money on domestic
travel, as it was relatively cheaper, adding that many operators were
offering attractive packages.

One of DK Malaysia's main goals is to promote investment, business
opportunities, trade, travel and tourism in Malaysia and to assist
MIDA, MITI, MATRADE and Tourism Malaysia achieve their goals and
objectives. I look forward to hearing from all of you and have a
great day.

Remember, Now is a good time to Visit Malaysia!

All the best,

Fred Plimley
President - DK Malaysia Development, LLC
Host/Moderator - Linkedin Malaysia
f.plimley@...
http://www.linkedin.com/in/fredplimley
(951) 243-3602
(909) 214-8783
(+44) 020 7193 7317
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