Malaysia to Scrap Visa Fee for Indian Tourists

Malaysia is considering waiving visa fee for Indian tourists to increase tourist footfall to 29.4 million in the country. In 2014 alone, between January and September, more than a million Indian tourists visited Malaysia, and contributed RM 1.18 Billion to the Malaysian economy.

Minister of Tourism and Culture Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said Malaysia aims to welcome more 2 million tourists to reach the record target. "We need to bring at least two million more tourists into the country to meet our target this year, with estimated revenue of RM80 billion, or we will lose out to other Asean countries, which have already implemented such exemptions," he said.

It has scrapped visa fee for Chinese, Japanese and South Korean nationals already, and is considering the same move for Indian tourists. The minister added, “We at the ministry are strongly in favour of such a good gesture to be extended to our Indian guests as well.” Indians are the fifth largest source of tourists for Malaysia.

The minister further said, "Indian tourists are big spenders especially when it comes to shopping, like Chinese tourists."

The visa fee waiver for Indians will benefit Malaysia, especially with the summer season just around.

Source: Borneo Post Online