Malaysia recorded a total of 8,167,798 tourist arrivals in first half of 2005, indicating signs of a continuous stream of tourists to the country.

Cumulatively, the tourist arrivals recorded from January to June 2005 stands at 8,167,798 compared to 7,889,344 tourist arrivals for the same period in 2004, representing an increase of 3.5%.

At a glance, Malaysia has been recording a steady average of some 1.3 million foreign visitors per month. During March 2005, Malaysia registered 1,419,275 visitors, the highest ever recorded in a month. It was an increase of 11.4% compared to last year's March figure of 1,274,039 visitors.

This year, the arrivals registered in January were (1,394,032), February (1,346,550), April (1,317,749), May (1,351,141) and June (1,339,051).

Despite the widespread fear of bird flu, dengue fever and recurring earthquakes in the region, Malaysia's tourism industry is heading in a positive direction.

The top ten tourist generating markets for first half of 2005 are Singapore (4,899,663), Thailand (931,216), Indonesia (452,727), Brunei (245,020), Japan (158,065), China (148,623), Australia (131,579), United Kingdom (120,413), India (116,082) and Taiwan (72,188).

Double digit growth was recorded for arrivals from South Korea (110.1%), Australia (33.5%), Thailand (27.2%), Indonesia (19.8%), India (26.0%), United Kingdom (21.8%), France (17.0%), Scandinavia (15.1%) besides, Singapore (1.6%), Japan (7.5%), West Asia (7.4%), and Russia (5.3%).

Tourist arrivals to Malaysia for the month of July are expected to be on the uptrend as major cities in Malaysia are receiving many tourists from West Asia. Additional flights by Malaysian Airlines and other commercial airlines are continuing to bring an influx of Arab tourists escaping the summer heat in their homelands to this country.

Issued by: The Hon. Minister of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia
Date: 03 August 2005