PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is confident that the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak that has claimed over a hundred lives will not affect the country’s Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM2020) campaign.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said the ministry expects to achieve its aim of 30 million arrivals by year end, claiming the impact from the virus that originated in Wuhan, China on tourist arrivals would be minimal.
“We won’t revise our target of achieving 30 million tourists this year. If anything, the impact will be small, and probably affect only visitors from Wuhan,” he told a press conference, here today.
“In any case, I think we have strategies in place to ensure that we hit our target,” he added.
The minister noted that the country had also faced similar viral outbreaks in the past and had dealt with it accordingly.
“Previously, we had the Mers-CoV and all the other major outbreaks. But Malaysia is experienced enough now to handle such problems. I remain high-spirited that our national agenda must be continued,” he said.
To date, Malaysia has recorded four confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with all of them still receiving treatment and under quarantine.
On concerns raised by Malaysians over the coronavirus, particularly on social media, Mohamaddin said there was nothing that anybody needed to worry about, claiming the relevant authorities are doing what is necessary to ensure the situation is kept under control.
He noted that all international entry points were being monitored closely, and that travellers showing symptoms would be checked, isolated and quarantined.
“There’s no reason for fear. It’s not right. So far, no Malaysians are infected. The confirmed cases only involved Chinese nationals, and they have been screened before entering here,” he said.
“Another problem I see is the dissemination of fake news, attempting to create fear among Malaysians. Maybe there’s an attempt to ensure our national agenda is not met,” he added.
