THE Visa On Arrival (VOA) requirements for tourists from China and India may be relaxed in a bid to increase the number of visitors from the two countries in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2020.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said the move might be implemented this year, but he did not specify which requirements would be relaxed.
"Yes (maybe relax the requirements), I don't see any problem with that. We are looking for more tourists, so we need to be lenient. We may relax (VOA requirements), but we need (further) discussions with other relevant ministries and ministers," he told reporters at a briefing in Putrajaya.
Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said Malaysia suffered a 3% drop in tourist arrivals to 25.95 million in 2017, compared to 26.76 million in 2016, although tourist arrival throughout Asean remained positive. — Bernama