KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia received just over a million visitors from China in the last six months, following visa exemptions for Chinese visitors effective December 1, 2023, the Home Ministry said.
The 30-day visa exemption facility brought in 1,046,231 Chinese tourists as of July 7, based on Immigration Department records, the ministry said in a parliamentary written reply to the Dewan Negara.
The Visa Liberalisation Plan (PLV), which was also extended to India until December 31 this year, saw 508,857 visitors from the country arrive in Malaysia since it was implemented until July 7.
This made for a total of 1,555,058 total tourist arrivals from both China and India in six months, the ministry said in its reply to Senator Datuk Mustafa Musa.
Mustafa had asked for the statistics of tourist arrivals following the PLV’s implementation, and if any of them had stayed beyond the 30-day visa-free limit.
The home ministry in its reply said that the Immigration Department ensured tourists did not flout the limit by requiring visitors to have a return ticket to their country of origin, and to fill in the mandatory Digital Arrival Card.
“(The digital arrival card) is integrated with the MyIMMs Immigration System to ensure the entry data of foreign tourists is recorded.”
The department also conducts enforcement operations in areas where foreign nationals are known to gather, live and work, besides ensuring tight control and inspections at the country’s entry points, the ministry added.
To Mustafa’s question on the impact of the PLV, the ministry said visa exemptions were “low-hanging fruit” that could quickly generate national income without compromising national security.
The PLV is also expected to boost the Visit Malaysia 2026 tourism campaign, which is also a reason why the government has extended visa exemptions to China until December 31, 2026, the ministry added. – July 25, 2024