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Tourism To Grow To RM38b In 3 years
The tourism industry is expected to contribute up to US$10 billion (RM38 billion) annually to the economy in three years from US$6.8 billion last year, says Tourism Minister Datuk Dr Leo Michael Toyad.
He said tourist arrivals would have to increase to 16 million per year to achieve the US$10 billion target."We will look into new strategies and promotions to increase tourist arrivals in the country," Toyad said after launching the Le Meridien KL hotel in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 8.
The new strategies could include improving air connectivity and the ports of Miri, Kuantan, Kuching and Labuan, he said. He also said there was a need to focus on Kuala Lumpur as a "total city destination" that would provide all sorts of attractions for tourists.
Meanwhile, Le Meridien KL general manager Brian S Pirie said the hotel chain had plans to operate a resort in Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi or Penang, but they had to wait for now. He said over the next 12 months the management would be focussing on building the Hotel's presence in Kuala Lumpur.
Kuala Lumpur 9/10/2004
