Chinese tourists do not need a visa to travel to Malaysia

Malaysia will be waiving visa requirements for Chinese tourists since March. This is part of the initiative of the country to revive its economy by attracting more Chinese tourists. As tourism is an important industry in Malaysia, targeting a new, booming tourism market could strongly improve the economic conditions of the country.

Previously, Malaysia has already put forward a series of measures to appeal to Chinese tourists, like waiving the visa application fee and providing an e-visa. These measures were partly successful in luring more Chinese tourists. However, the tourism industry of Malaysia was heavily influenced by the MH370 accident, which stopped potential tourists from choosing Malaysia.

According to Hamzah Rahmat, head of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, another reason that the previous measures could not bring more Chinese tourists was that some of them were not properly implemented. Other ministries in Malaysia failed to see the importance of tourism and lacked the motivation to facilitate the visit of Chinese tourists to Malaysia.

Now, with the new visa waiver policy, Rahmat wished it would be able to make Malaysia become a popular travel destination for Chinese tourists in the long run. Furthermore, the travel agencies in China welcomed this move, indicating that the visa waiver policy would motivate more Chinese tourists to visit Malaysia.

Source: YIBADA

Photo: flickr