Mumbai:
To further boost growing flow of tourists from India, Tourism Malaysia is promoting itself as an exotic destination and has set a target of attracting 8 lakh footfalls from the sub-continent in 2014.
"India is a very important country for us in terms of tourism after other Asian countries and China. Since the last few years there has been a steady increase in foot falls from India and we want to continue with our efforts to aid this growth.
"This year we expect 7.8 lakh footfalls from India and in 2014 we are targeting 8 lakh tourists from India," Tourism Malaysia Chairman Ng Yen Yen said here.
The total international tourist inflow is expected to be 26 million in 2013, and 25 million in 2014, she added. Yen said that fall in rupee is benefiting tourists visiting Malaysia, also a budget destination, as it has offers wide options to choose from like luxury, adventure, meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE), wedding and shopping.
Tourism Malaysia is also bullish to tap Bollywood and is in talks with several production houses in this regard, she added. "We offer 30 per cent discount to production houses, besides facilitating all ground-level arrangements like finding locations, getting permits, transport among others,"Yen said.
Even as Malaysia and India are connected by 106 weekly flights, there is a need for more flights to increase the tourism inflow, she added.
