M’sia to see more Chinese tourists during golden week

Photo: ONG SOON HIN/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: The country is expecting an influx of visitors during China’s Labour Day golden week, says Tourism Malaysia director-general Manoharan Periasamy.

The Labour Day golden week, which runs from May first to fifth, is one of three major holidays in China, after the Chinese New Year and National Day celebrations.

He said Tourism Malaysia is expecting a 30% increase in tourists compared with 2023 during the period.

“From the information from our partners, the number of bookings to Malaysia has increased tremendously during the golden week.

“This shows that the support and interest of tourists have increased since Covid-19,” he said.

He, however, did not reveal the expected figures for the golden week.

He said that for Chinese tourists, they usually combine their trips to Malaysia with Singapore.

“We have an advantage because when they travel to Singapore, they don’t stay for more than three nights and then they come to Malaysia,” he said after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Malaysian Aviation Group and Tourism Malaysia for a three-year partnership here yesterday.

Manoharan said he is optimistic that the country will be able to achieve the target of five million Chinese tourists arrivals this year.

He noted that Tawau in Sabah is becoming a favourite and trending destination for many Chinese tourists.

“Right now, a lot of chartered flights go directly there, from second-tier cities like Nanjing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.”