KL targets 41% jump in tourism receipts

KL targets 41% jump in tourism receipts

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia expects foreign exchange earnings from tourism to surge 41 percent this year and hit a record high of 30 billion ringgit (US$7.89 billion) following a rebound in travel, a report said on Friday.

"Last year, we obtained about 22 billion ringgit through foreign exchange and this year we hope to achieve about 30 billion," Deputy Tourism Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

The government expects visitor arrivals this year to climb back to the 2002 level of 13.3 million after dropping 20 percent last year to 10.58 million because of the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the region and the Iraq war. -- AFP