THE Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board said on Wednesday, May 24 that they want to attract more Filipino tourists and reach the high number of visitors they recorded pre-pandemic.
During the Wednesday Media Forum, Director General of Tourism Malaysia Dato' Dr. Ammar Abd Ghapar said they recorded the highest mark of Filipino tourists in 2019 with approximately 421,000 visitors. It dropped when the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Last year, Malaysia recorded around 159,000 Filipino visitors, which declined by 62 percent compared to 2019. Ghapar said they want to fill the 62 percent gap this 2023.
With this, Tourism Malaysia eyes increasing flight frequency from Kuala Lumpur-Manila-Kula Lumpur and Singapore-Davao-Singapore flights in coordination with Singapore Airlines.
Ghapar said the Singapore-Davao flight helps Malaysia’s tourism because of the easy entry point from Singapore.
“I think this is an area we should capitalize on so that we can maximize the number of people traveling. So this is where our cooperation and collaboration would benefit the countries,” Ghapar said.
“Without the accessibility, we would not achieve (the tourism target). That is why we are working now, talking to the airlines about how we go back,” he added.
Ghapar said they aim to increase the momentum of their Visit Malaysia 2025 campaign by promoting dual destination traveling so tourists can visit more than one place in Malaysia.
One of the most popular destinations in Malaysia is LEGOLAND Malaysia which can be accessed from Singapore.
Currently, two airlines namely Scoot and Singapore Airlines are operating Singapore-Davao-Singapore flights twice a week. ICM