ALARM bells are ringing in the tourism industry, following a 30% to 35% drop in the number of visitors from China in the first week of October.

This period, known as the “Golden Week”, usually sees Malaysia welcoming a high number of Chinese tourists, who are on a long holiday after independence day celebrations on October 1.

Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association deputy president Jason Ow Yeang told The Malaysian Insight that an estimated 100,000 Chinese tourists visited Malaysia in the first week of October last year.

This year, the number dropped below 70,000.

Ow Yeang said the dip can be attributed to the change in government.

“After the 14th general election, it took almost two months for a complete cabinet to be formed, with many ministries not having ministers, leading to many decisions being left up in the air during the transition period.

“New ministers also needed time to learn the ropes, and the new government was busy scrutinising past practices, leading to an even longer period of uncertainty within the administration.

“Due to the delays, Malaysia missed the opportunity to attract Chinese tourists during their holidays. Those in the tourism industry estimate that Chinese tourist arrivals had decreased by 30% to 35%, compared with the same period last year.”

There were no tourism promotions as the Pakatan Harapan government needed time to adjust, he said, adding that Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi was sworn in as tourism, arts and culture minister only in June.

Ow Yeang said strong competition from Indonesia and Thailand also contributed to the drop in Chinese tourist arrivals.

He said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s visit to China in August was focused on the East Coast Rail Line and natural gas pipeline agreements rather than promoting tourism.

“Dr Mahathir’s visit may have been rushed to address Chinese concerns about China-backed projects that are being reviewed, and tourism was probably overlooked.”

The prime minister recently denied that the ongoing project reviews were the reason for the decreased number of tourist arrivals from China, but admitted that the figure has been dropping.

He has announced a review of visa requirements for Chinese citizens, including lowering the application fee and speeding up approval.

Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association deputy president Jackson Thian agreed with Dr Mahathir that the shrinking number of Chinese tourists is not due to the review of mega projects.

“This does not affect the layman over there. So, it cannot be the reason for the decreasing number.”

He attributed the drop to Beijing’s efforts to encourage citizens to visit local destinations.

“Many of them now are travelling internally, which is much cheaper.”

Like Ow Yeang, Thian suggested that Putrajaya consider further exemptions for Chinese tourists, such as visa-free travel.

Myanmar had granted visas on arrival to Chinese tourists in preparation for the Golden Week, leading to more than double the usual number of visitors from China.

Similarly, airports in Thailand’s five most-visited tourist destinations – Bangkok, Don Muang, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Hat Yai – have special entry lanes for Chinese tourists’ convenience.

According to Chinese tourism website fliggy.com, Malaysia is the seventh most-popular destination for Chinese nationals, dropping a spot from last year.

Competition from Southeast Asian countries, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, should not be taken lightly, as the two have made it to the top 10.

Ow Yeang said nations such as Thailand, Japan and South Korea have acted quickly to pull in Chinese tourists, giving them preferential treatment.

The top 20 most-visited destinations by Chinese tourists during this year’s Golden Week were Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the US, Russia, Cambodia, Australia, Canada, Turkey, the Philippines, United Arab Emirates, Maldives and France. – October 18, 2018.