JAKARTA: Indonesian tourists have become the third-largest group of foreigners contributing to the Malaysian tourism industry after Singapore and China.
Last year alone, Indonesian tourists spent some RM2.83 billion in the country, said Malaysia’s director of tourism in Indonesia, Roslan Othman.
He said Tourism Malaysia was now focusing on more promotional activities to attract Indonesian tourists to Malaysia.
One of them is the “Miss Sophia: Shopping Hunt” programme, which is a new activity for Indonesians and is seen to have great potential to attract them to visit Malaysia.
“A total of 44 teams participated in the “Miss Sophia: Shopping Hunt: Road to Malaysia” programme held at the Kasablanka City Shopping Complex in Jakarta today.
“This Shopping Hunt programme is something new, and it was first introduced in Jakarta, and received a great response.
“The winner of this programme will be Indonesia’s official representative, fully sponsored by Tourism Malaysia to participate in the Miss Sophia: Shopping Hunt 3.0 programme which will be held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 15,” he said.
Roslan said 200 participants from Indonesia were expected to join the programme in Kuala Lumpur.
“Malaysia’s tourism industry players need to regard Indonesia as a major market.
“Last year, Indonesian tourists were the third largest contributors to the Malaysian tourism industry at RM2.83 billion after Singapore (RM6.17 billion) and China (RM3.7 billion).
“The target for Indonesian tourists travelling to Malaysia this year is 3.6 million and for next year, in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year 2020, 4 million Indonesian tourists,” he said. - Bernama