PADANG RENGAS, Jan 14 — At least four Tourism Malaysia offices abroad will be closed this year, following discontinuation of Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) flights to the cities of the countries involved.  Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the offices were based in New York, United States; Perth, Australia; Stockholm, Sweden and Johannesburg, South Africa.

"As a result of MAB’s stoppage of flights to these cities, it will be difficult for Tourism Malaysia to continue operating and promoting flights,” he told reporters after attending a meet-the-people session held at the Dewan Kampung Tanah Merah here today.

Mohamed Nazri said in his opinion, the closure of the Tourism Malaysia offices enabled his ministry to focus on other offices in Europe, as well as plan for the opening of new offices in China and India.  He said the ministry would focus on major European countries, like Britain, Germany and France whose citizens visit Malaysia annually.

 "According to the 2015 statistics, tourists from Britain topped the list at 400,000, followed by Germany (40,000) and France (50,000),” he added. 

Elaborating, Mohamed Nazri, who is also Padang Rengas MP said the closure of the offices could save about RM4.5 million in annual operating costs.  He said the discontinuation of flights caused by MAB’s restructuring had affected the volume of international tourists visiting Malaysia. 

"Last year, we expected to have 30.3 million foreign tourists and spent RM103 billion but we did not reach the target due to several factors, the most evident being the absence of flights.

"This is because when tourists visit a country, they seek out its national flight company...for instance, if they want to go to Malaysia, they will choose MAS (now MAB),” he explained.

Nevertheless, Mohamed Nazri hoped the government would continue to provide funds to promote tourism abroad. — Bernama