KUALA LUMPUR: About two million international tourists are targeted to visit Malaysia this year following the reopening of international borders on April 1, says the Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister.

       Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said her ministry hoped to see RM8.6bil in tourism and related revenue from these tourists this year.

       For domestic tourism, she said the ministry has not set a target but hoped to hit 50% of what was seen in 2019.

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

       “But we know to obtain 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 will exceed what we want to achieve,” she said when replying to a question by Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub (BN-Machang) in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

       Ahmad Jazlan had asked about the government’s tourism targets. On March 8, the government announced that it will reopen to international travellers beginning April 1.