A grand total of 25, 032, 708 foreign tourists visited Malaysia in 2012. This number surpassed the amount of arrivals in 2011 (24,714,324).
According to Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, Malaysia’s Tourism Minister, the total tourist arrivals generated RM60.6 billion in revenue in 2012 compared with 2011’s revenue of RM58.3 billion.
According to her comment to Bernama, Ng Yen Yen said the double digit growth in tourist arrivals was largely contributed by Iraq, Nepal, Philippines, China, Japan, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.
"The Asean market contributed the most number of tourists with 75.1 per cent following various competitive offers by low-cost carriers such as Air Asia, Mandala Airlines, SEAir and Tiger Airways besides the existence of new tourism products such as the Johor Premium Outlet and the Legoland Theme Park," she said.
According to Ng Yen Yen, the growth of tourist arrivals was in line the Malaysian Tourism Plan 2020 target of achieving 36 million tourist arrivals and a tourism revenue of RM168 billion by the year 2020. She also said that the Ministry of Tourism will implement an effective strategy to woo more tourists to stay longer in the country.
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