Malaysia launches a large-scale promotion activity in the coastal city of Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, on April 14. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Malaysia launched a large-scale promotion activity in the coastal city of Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, on April 14 to promote its tourism sector in the city, with the goal of accelerating the recovery of its tourism industry after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The promotional activities, which were held in China's major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Xiamen from March 29 to April 15, are expected to help Malaysia expand its tourism market in China, as well as enhance tourists' confidence in the post-pandemic era. It is expected that about 16.1 million international tourists will visit Malaysia this year, generating a total estimated tourism revenue of 49.2 billion ringgits ($11.08 billion).

Mr Manoharan, senior director of the Tourism Malaysia International Promotion Office (Asia/Africa), said that China is a very important tourist source market for Malaysia, adding that "we are pleased that Malaysia is also on China’s list in the pilot program to resume group travel to 20 countries." The promotional activities are expected to strengthen cooperation and exchanges between the two countries.

Since this year, Malaysia has rolled out a slew of measures to boost its ties with Chinese travel agents and airlines. Currently, there are 81 international flights from Chinese mainland to Malaysia per week.

According to officials from the Malaysian Tourism Department, the country will hold the Tourism Year Malaysia 2025.

The promotional activities are expected to help Malaysia expand its tourism market in China and enhance tourists' confidence. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The promotional activities are expected to strengthen cooperation and exchanges between China and Malaysia. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]