VMY2020 to bring in 36m tourists, RM168b tourist receipts: Nazri

CHIANGMAI: The Visit Malaysia Year 2020 (VMY2020) is expected to welcome 36 million tourists to the country and register RM168 billion in tourist receipts, said Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.
He said the VMY2020 has also received the support of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, who had announced about the campaign when tabling the Budget 2018 in Oct last year.
"It is (VMY2020) a key development towards the realisation of the Malaysia Tourism Transformation Plan goals that by the year 2020, Malaysia will welcome a total of 36 million tourists and register RM168 billion in tourist receipts," he said today.
The minister said that during a media luncheon and the launching of VMY2020 promotion campaign at the ongoing ASEAN Tourism Forum 2018 (ATF), as well as the unveiling of the official logo of the campaign which portrayed Malaysia's treasured flora and fauna.
VMY2020 also has the "Travel, Enjoy, Respect" tagline, which according to him was aligned with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)'s aspirations.
The minister was confident with the success of the campaign, saying that the country's tourism sector was currently experiencing strong growth with several international hotel brands expected to set up their hotels in Malaysia.
He cited the Four Seasons, Movenpick, W by Starwood and Doubletree by Hilton which are expected to provide close to 1,000 rooms in the next two years.
Besides that, he said new attractions such as Desaru Coast in the southern state of Johore will also house several well-known hotels such as The Westin, Anantara and Hard Rock Hotel, providing tourists with more attractions.
Mohamed Nazri also acknowledged the importance of connectivity to facilitate travelling, adding that the ministry had established a partnership with various airlines for scheduled and charter flights while the government also had incentives to attract international airlines to fly to Malaysia.
At the launching ceremony, he also presented recognition awards to ten organisations for their support and promotion of Malaysia as a holiday destination for Thais. — Bernama