Four per cent increase in tourist arrivals this year - Nazri

Tourist arrivals in Malaysia has shown an increase of four percent this year compared with 2013 said Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

He said the reason the ministry compared the current figure with 2013 was because last year was Visit Malaysia Year, whereby the ministry had a bigger allocation and there were more promotional campaigns to promote the country.

"The arrival in 2015 should be best compared with the arrival from 2013 because it was a normal year, so if you compare the arrival from June 2013 with June this year, we can see an increase of four percent and to me it is a steady growth," he said when launching a book 'Lelaki Di Sebalik Pulau' written by former Balik Pulau Member of Parliament Yusmadi Yusoff on law and society.

Asked whether the public rallies had an impact on tourist arrivals, Nazri said it did not have an impact compared to the MH370 and MH17 tragedies.

Nazri said tourists from western countries like France, Germany and the United Kingdom, were familiar with public rallies.

However, the current haze situation will have a slight impact on arrival of tourists to the country, but "when the ringgit is low, I feel this is the best time for Singaporeans and Indonesians to come here."

"When you look at the Johor-Singapore Causeway, it is filled with cars everyday. Singaporeans are coming in, they are coming to Melaka, Penang and Kuala Lumpur," he said.