Chinese tourists expected to flood Malaysia

Malaysians can begin to expect a ‘flood’ of Chinese tourists to this country in the near future when more people know more about the country as a travel destination, according to the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC).

“People don’t know much about places like Redang, if they know about the white beaches, they would love it. The place would be flooded with the Chinese,” said ACC secretary general Ma Mingqiang.

Ma said Malaysia is already “well known” among the Chinese, having established the famous Singapore-Malaysia-Thailand travel route and its local products previously.

“We need to promote a lot more, your beauty, Sipadan, your diving paradise, Sabah, Langkawi these places, these are things you need to promote further in China. People are quite familiar with places such as Melaka, Penang, KL, the Twin Towers,” Ma told reporters here during the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2014 and TRAVEX tourism expo.

Among the efforts by ACC to promote tourism in ASEAN countries is to produce documentaries, and Ma said that two documentaries on Malaysia will be aired on its national television channel CCTV nationwide soon.

“By then there would be a substantial increase in Chinese tourists,” he said.

Ma said that a research done on Chinese tourists showed that they want better services and facilities that are in their language.

"Among the 11 million visitors, the English speaking visitors are quite minimal," said Ma, adding that the Chinese are also fond of "white sandy beaches, crystal clean water, and a green eco environment".

The number of Chinese tourist arrivals to ASEAN countries is also on the rise, registering at 11.3 million last year.

China is among Malaysia’s top three highest tourist generating markets last year, with 1.4 million travellers arriving between Jan-Sept in 2013. China was surpassed by the Indonesian (1.8 million) and Singaporean (9.47 million) markets.

ACC promotes cooperation between South East Asian countries with China in trade, investment, tourism, education and culture, with active involvement of the private sector.