Malaysia revises 2020 tourist arrival target

PETALING JAYA: Tourism Malaysia has revised its tourist arrival target for 2020 from 33 million to 30 million.
Its chairman Datuk Ahmad Shah Hussein Tambakau said “economic uncertainties” for western travellers surrounding long-haul travel spending had caused the change in outlook.
“We have looked at the last two years and we have had growth but not quite as much as we had anticipated so we made the decision to have a more realistic figure,” he was quoted as saying at the World Travel Market in London.
However, Malaysia is on track to hit its 2019 target of 28 million leading up to the 30 million mark the following year, Ahmad Shah added.
He said one of the main strategies for achieving growth is Malaysia’s long-haul connectivity from Europe with the country currently having direct flights from London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.
On Nov 2, Condor Airlines landed in at KLIA1 in its inaugural flight to Kuala Lumpur. It only airline to offer a direct flight between Malaysia and Germany. Its Kuala Lumpur (KUL)-Frankfurt (FRA) route will be three times a week on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. The FRA-KUL route will be on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.
During WTM London, the government also signed understandings to work more closely with Royal Brunei Airlines and Singapore Airlines.