PETALING JAYA: The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry is targeting about two million international tourists this year following the reopening of international borders on April 1.

       Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri (pic) hoped to achieve RM8.6bil in revenue from these visitors.

       However, for domestic tourism, she said the ministry had not set a target but hoped to see at least 50% of what the sector generated in 2019.

       “In 2019, we earned RM103bil from domestic tourism. We hope (this year), if possible, to obtain at least 50% of that.

       “But we know to get what we had in 2019 is difficult at this moment in time. We still pray and hope that (tourism this year) will be active and exceed what we want,” she said in reply to Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub (BN-Machang) in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (March 16).

       He had asked about the government’s tourism targets following the reopening of borders.

       On March 8, the government announced that it will reopen its borders to international travellers from April 1.