On October 1st, Li Taikang, deputy director of Malaysia National Tourism Administration, accepted an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency in Kuala Lumpur. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Mao Pengfei

Xinhua News Agency, Kuala Lumpur, October 6th Interviews on cross-border travel in the development of "fast-track" - Li Taikong, Deputy Director of the National Tourism Office of Malaysia

Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Jiawei Mao Pengfei Cheng Yiheng

¡°I sincerely invite Chinese friends to visit Malaysia to play!¡± Malaysian National Tourism Bureau Deputy Director Li Taikon said in an interview with reporters at Xinhua news agency that in the event of the opening of the new ¡°golden 50 years¡± of Malaysian-Chinese relations, the mutual visa exemption policy of the two countries and the increase of flight lines and flights, cross-border tourism cooperation has grown rapidly, China has become one of Malaysia¡¯s most important tourist destinations.

Malaysia's National Tourism Bureau data shows that this year as of August, the number of Chinese tourists to Malaysia has reached 3.28 million, close to the level of last year and this year, we are confident that the cumulative reception of Chinese tourists has broken 5 million times.

In April this year, China and Malaysia formally signed a mutual visa exemption agreement, which came into effect on July 17. Previously, the two countries provided visa-free entry facilities to each other in December 2023, and announced the extension of each other's visa-free policies in June 2024, which was welcomed by tourism practitioners and people of the two countries. After the latest policy came into effect, Li Taikang immediately walked into the live broadcast rooms of online platforms such as Ctrip, Meituan, and Feizhong to promote Malaysian characteristic culture, food and tourism resources to China netizens.

"Since last year, Malaysia has joined hands with a number of cultural tourism platforms in China to launch supporting preferential activities, and combined with characteristic festivals and cultural atmosphere, to attract more Chinese tourists to Malaysia." Li Taikang said that Malaysia not only has rich island natural scenery, but also provides cultural, ecological and experiential tourism options. "Chinese tourists also pay more attention to parent-child study, cooking experience and ecological exploration. World-class ecological resources such as Dahanshan National Park in Malaysia are gradually becoming new hot spots for Chinese tourists to explore."

In recent years, Malaysia has gradually become a popular choice for China tourists to travel across borders, which is inseparable from Malaysia's investment in tourism services and other aspects. Li Taikang said that Malaysia continues to optimize convenience measures. For example, China tourists only need to fill in an electronic entry card to achieve "silk entry", and airport infrastructure continues to be upgraded. At the same time, cross-border interoperability of payment and travel services has greatly improved convenience, and applications such as Alipay, WeChat and Didi Chuxing can be used in Malaysia.

According to reports, Malaysia will usher in the "Year of Tourism" in 2026, which will further increase the number of tourists and consumption level by encouraging extended stay time, enriching cultural and eco-tourism products, and promoting niche tourism experiences.

"We plan to attract 47 million international tourists in 2026 and generate 329 billion ringgit (1 US dollar is about 4.2 ringgit) in international tourism revenue," Li Taikang said. "I believe that the continuous growth of the number of Chinese tourists will help Malaysia achieve its goals and play a key role in further strengthening Malaysia-China economic and trade relations."

He said that Malaysia will further improve its supporting policies and facilities, jointly develop local governments and travel agencies to promote new attractions, new routes and new experiences, and work closely with China to ensure that tourists travel safely.

Li Taikang also extended special holiday greetings to China tourists. He said: "Congratulations to all China friends for a happy Double Festival. I hope everyone will come to Malaysia and experience first-hand the natural beauty, diverse culture and hospitality here."