Malaysia received 1.8 million Thai tourists last year

About 1.8 million tourists from Thailand visited Malaysia last year, a growth of 32.5 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2015, according to the Tourism Malaysia Thailand.

The trend of strong growth in tourist arrivals from Thailand is expected to continue this year, says its director, Abdul Haris Hadi.

"Between January and July this year, the number of Thai tourist arrivals to Malaysia experienced a 9.1 per cent increase as compared to the same period last year," he told a tourism seminar for local media and travel agents organised by Tourism Malaysia Thailand in Hatyai, southern Thailand recently.

Overall, he said, Malaysia recorded a four per cent increase in the number of tourists it received last year, with 26.7 million arrivals generating RM82.1 billion in tourist receipts for the country.

In 2015, the country received RM69.1 billion in tourist receipts.

Through the seminar, Abdul Haris said his office aimed to seek and strengthen relations between the media and industry players throughout Thailand and in the southern provinces such as Hatyai, Songkla and other cities.

The seminar will update local media and travel agents on the latest tourism products and places of interest in Malaysia and develop tour packages using various modes of transportation, he added.

The one-day seminar also included talks by several senior officers from Tourism Malaysia headquarters in Putrajaya and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad.- BERNAMA