KUALA LUMPUR: An overall target of two million tourist arrivals to Malaysia alongside RM8.6bil in tourist spendings have been set by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry under the “Malaysia Truly Asia 2022” campaign, says its Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.

       She added that the number of international arrivals to Malaysia had reached close to one million since the borders reopened on April 1. “When coupled with the reopening of our international borders and easing of Covid-19 restrictions, we believe it can exceed the targeted two million tourist arrivals.

       “Similarly, we hope that these relaxations will also entice tourists to choose Malaysia as their next holiday destination,” she said at a press conference after the signing of the Memorandum of Collaboration (MOC) between Tourism Malaysia and Expedia Group.

       She also noted that previous collaborations with Expedia from August 2019 to February 2020 had successfully generated 156,573 tourists from Britain, the United States and Japan to Malaysia through the booking platform.

       At least 62,449 tourists from Britain, US and Australia are expected to travel to Malaysia in 2022, she added.

       Nancy also announced that 11 local media outlets including the Star Media Group, Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM), Sinar Harian and Astro will be working together with Tourism Malaysia to produce a series of branded content and niche programmes to cater to the local tourism market.

       “Together, we will be intensifying the campaign with these respective platforms through various means, including electronics, print, and digital in covering various tourist destinations within Malaysia.

       “Similarly, we would also like to express a special thank you to the Housing and Local Government Ministry for providing us with their digital billboards across Malaysia,” she said.

       She added that the next phase would see Tourism Malaysia work towards collaborating with other local media outlets that have displayed a tremendous commitment to the tourism industry.

       “As such, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and sincerely thank all our local media friends that have been supporting the ‘Cuti-Cuti Malaysia Campaign’, especially during the challenging times,” she said.

       The collaboration between Tourism Malaysia and Expedia Group is set to shine the spotlight on hidden and unique tourist attractions in Malaysia alongside promoting the variety of accommodations to more than 750 million of Expedia Group’s global monthly visitors.

       Also present at the signing was Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Zainuddin Abdul Wahab, its policy division (culture) undersecretary Dr Tan Awang Besar and Expedia Group Media Solutions operations and services vice-president Doug Park.