Chinese tourists, meanwhile, contribute the second most, or about 15%, to Malaysia’s total annual foreign exchange receipts. Similarly, Chinese arrivals, which were on an upward trend, dipped significantly following the 2014 disappearance of MH370. Our northern neighbour welcomed 10.54 million Chinese tourists last year, more than thrice the number to Malaysia, while our southern neighbour received 3.42 million. Maybank Kim Eng senior economist Dr Chua Hak Bin says the surge in Chinese tourists to Thailand has helped boost the country’s economy. Chinese arrivals in Malaysia did not suffer in the second half of last year and no later data has been released.

Source: The Edge Markets June 06, 2019 08:03 UTC