Tourism Malaysia is directing its efforts in the India market towards recovering growth of Indian tourist arrivals, which witnessed a plunge in 2016, compared to 2015. According to statistics, Malaysia received 722,141 Indian tourist arrivals in CY2015, which declined to 638,578 in CY2016, marking a 11.6 per cent decrease. Singapore, Indonesia and China are currently the top three source countries for Tourism Malaysia.
Despite the decline, Tourism Malaysia’s revenue increased last year due to the extended length of stay of Indian travellers. In 2015, the average length of stay was 6.7 nights, but last year it was seven nights, which increased tourist spendings, thereby posting a positive revenue for the destination.
Commenting on the decline, Mohd Hafiz Hashim, director, Tourism Malaysia – Mumbai, said, “There are several factors behind the decline. The opening of Bollywood Parks has diverted a proportion of Indian tourists to Dubai. Demonetisation was also a factor a significant factor. Additionally, Malaysia receives a large part of middle income class travellers, but with rising incomes, Indians travelled more to Europe. In Q1 this year, the numbers still remained low. We received around 160,000 Indian tourists in Q1 last year, but only around 100,000 during the same period this year; this may also be due to demonetisation.”
While acknowledging that the tourism board has to work harder to recover the growth in Indian tourist arrivals, Hashim added, “We are tapping into Tier II and III markets. AirAsia’s recent launch of Bhubhaneswar-Kuala Lumpur flight will also help in strengthening Indian tourist arrivals. We are trying to focus on family segment this year.”
