THE tourism industry is banking on visitors from India and China to help drive its recovery, Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association president Uzaidi Udanis said.

He said many companies are optimistic better times are here and are planning for the reopening of borders with gusto.

He said the opening of international borders on Friday was different from the Langkawi travel bubble. 

He said although Langkawi welcomed more than 600 European tourists under the travel bubble, most of them had come to be with relatives in Malaysia. 

However, he said, the tourists coming in now, after the reopening of international borders, are those who really want to travel and spend, including staying in hotels and enjoying the local cuisine.

Uzaidi said they have received a lot of enquiries from Indian travellers but added that the market is dependent on Chinese tourists.

“It is a short trip from India to Malaysia, so we have received a lot of enquiries from Indian travel agencies,” he said.

“The only problem is visas. Fortunately, the Immigration Department is willing to help speed up the time to obtain them.

“However, we are most looking forward to the arrival of Chinese tourists.

“Even so, since some parts of China are still in some kind of lockdown and Chinese people still need to be quarantined for 20 days after returning home, it will take some time to expect heavy tourist traffic from there.

“Meanwhile, many Indians can afford to spend. In addition to the usual packages, we are going to launch a wedding banquet, and the response to that is not bad,” Uzaidi told The Malaysian Insight, hoping that families from the subcontinent will consider hosting nuptials in Malaysia.

Prior to the lockdown, some 735,000 Indian tourists visited Malaysia in 2019, while 3.11 million people made the journey from China.

Uzaidi said another source of tourists is the Middle East, but with the fasting month, the industry expects things to pick up from this sector after Hari Raya.

“April is Ramadan, and it is expected that the number of Arab tourists will not be huge, but we hope that this will increase after Hari Raya,” he said.

“We have also begun planning winter tourism packages. European and American tourists will travel to Asian countries during winter.

“We have fallen behind Thailand, Indonesia and other countries. Now, we are catching up.”

Uzaidi said most of the local players are ready for the influx but there are two niggling issues they are trying to overcome: the shortage of tour buses and drivers. 

Since the epidemic has not ended completely, he said many bus companies are not rushing to renew their road tax and prepare their vehicles because it could cost as much as RM10,000 a bus, while there is also a shortage of drivers. 

Uzaidi said this is a problem that needs to be resolved urgently.

“Among our members, only 20% of bus companies are willing to renew road tax and prepare their buses. It costs RM1,200 for one tyre, and it’s not a small sum to replace six tyres. The most worrying thing is whether tourists will come,” he said. 

Uzaidi also revealed that during this transition period, hotels have changed their cooperation models with tour companies, with no long-term contract obligations. 

He said with other costs on the rise, it makes tour companies only able to take one step at a time. – April 4, 2022.