KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — The Tourism Cabinet Committee Meeting today discussed the effects of the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 and Flight MH17 tragedies, as well as the recent kidnappings in Sabah, on tourist arrivals.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who chaired the meeting said several measures had been identified to revive the confidence of tourists.

These include exemption from visa payments for single entries for tourists from China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for the 2014 final quarter and 2015.

“The (tourism and culture) ministry and the immigration department will study the proposal, including the status of the Visa On Arrival for tourists from China and India,” he said in a press conference held after the meeting here today.

The meeting was also attended by Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

Muhyiddin said the committee also identified several other measures, including intensifying international promotions and the Malaysia Year of Festival (MyFEST) 2015.

“Through these strategies, we are targeting 29.4 million tourist arrivals, with a revenue collection of RM89 billion for next year,” he said.

On the arrival of foreign tourists, he said there was a 2.7 per cent increase in the number of foreign tourists in 2013 (25.72 million) as compared to 2012 (25.03 million).

The revenue generated by foreign tourists also increased from RM60.56 billion in 2012 to RM65.44 billion last year, an increase of RM4.89 billion.

“Although the tourism sector faced challenges and obstacles this year, nevertheless, from January to May, the country received 11.53 million foreign tourists, which was an increase of 10.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2013 (10.48 million),” noted Muhyiddin.

In May alone, which was after the Flight MH370 tragedy, the country recorded 2.27 million in tourist arrivals, an increase of 10.9 per cent as compared to the same period last year. — Bernama