The Malaysian government has decided to implement a visa-free policy for groups of two or more Chinese visitors to attract more Chinese tourists. The new policy will take effect before the 2016 Chinese New Year.
The Minister of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, Nazri bin Abdul Aziz, said the sole requirement of the visa-free policy is that Chinese visitors purchase a tour package recognized by the Malaysian and the Chinese governments.
He said independent travelers are not eligible for the visa-free policy. “This is to ensure that Chinese tourists can enjoy quality vacations in Malaysia and to protect them from being cheated or sold fake goods.”
Mr. Nazri said if the visa-free policy could attract 3% of the annual force of 120 million outbound Chinese travelers after the policy is implemented by the next Chinese New Year, this would undoubtedly have a positive impact on the Malaysian tourism industry and the overall economy.
The number of Chinese visitors to Malaysia has dropped sharply ever since the MH370 Malaysia Airlines disaster and the abduction of Chinese tourists in Sabah in the past year，in the first half of this year it had fallen 11.7% y-o-y.（Translation by David）
