KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said visa-free entry for Chinese tourists will be extended to Dec 31, 2017.
He said the extension is in view of sustained growth in Chinese visitor arrivals to the country which is expected to exceed two million this year.
According to tourist arrival statistics, 1,406,417 Chinese nationals visited the country between January and August this year.
This represented an increase of 26.3 per cent compared to the same period last year, which saw the arrival of 1,113,508 Chinese tourists.
“With the visa exemption for Chinese tourists, the Tourism and Culture Ministry has set a target of 2,026,000 visitors from China this year,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time (MQT) in Parliament today.
Nazri was replying to a question from Loke Siew Fook (DAP-Rasah) who asked the minister to state the positive impacts as a result of the visa-free exemption and whether it will be extended.
Earlier this year in March, the government announced visa-free entry from Mac 1 to Dec 31 for Chinese tourists staying in Malaysia for a period not exceeding 15 days, subject to certain conditions.
Nazri added that Malaysia is an attractive shopping destination for Chinese tourists, who are well-known for their purchasing power.
“The list includes milk powder due to their distrust of domestic brands after a melamine contamination incident.
“They know they are getting the genuine product here,” he said