TOURISM players are eager to receive tourists from China amid Beijing’s move to loosen its zero-Covid policy early next year, Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association (Mita) president Uzaidi Udanis said. 

He said Beijing’s decision to scrap quarantine requirements for travellers and reopen its borders could bring in three million economy-boosting tourists to Malaysia.

“China is very important because it has a big volume (of tourists) and they are ‘big spenders’, and this will be able to contribute good numbers for Malaysia’s economy,” he told a press conference on the tourism industry’s preparation for tourists from China in Kuala Lumpur today. 

Uzaidi said the association is fully committed to adhering to the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 preventive measures to avoid another outbreak in the country. 

“In our industry, we will comply even though we are very excited about bringing in tourists because safety comes first. Tourism industry players were badly affected (when the country was hit by Covid-19) and we have learnt from that and now our mantra is ‘good health means good business’, so it is important for the industry to comply with the SOP (standard operating procedure),” he said. 

He said it is best if the tourists enter Malaysia under certified travel agents as this will help the government monitor their movements and thus reduce the risk of another Covid-19 outbreak, as well as overcome other issues such as overstaying, citing the Langkawi Sandbox as an example. 

Also present at the press conference were Tourism Malaysia package development director Shahrin Mokhtar and Fish Tales Cup Series founder Kenneth Chan. 

On the “Fish Tales 2023 Cup – The Global Chinese Pro Challenge”, Uzaidi said the event will be held on August 18 to 22 next year, co-organised by Mita as one of its efforts to attract affluent Chinese nationals to Malaysia. 

Uzaidi said after a two-year break due to the pandemic, some 500 participants from China are expected to take part in the fishing competition while contributing to community-based tourism in Rompin, Pahang.

“The market for angling tourism is big in China. Statistically, there are an estimated 120 million fishing enthusiasts in China, and 2% of this group (2.4 million) will travel at least once a year outside of China for angling activities,” he said.

Uzaidi said each angler will spend an average of US$2,500 (RM11,058.75) to US$3,000 per fishing trip in Malaysia. 

“Since the inaugural China-Malaysia Friendship Fishing Competition, Langkawi, was held in 2008, it has been Mita’s intention to promote angling tourism in Malaysia aggressively to the China market,” he said. – Bernama, December 29, 2022.