By Jason Ng
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines
Flight 370 and a spate of kidnappings will likely hurt Malaysia's
tourism industry until at least 2015 as travelers scrap or delay
trips, the country's tourism chief said.
Tourism Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said that as of April,
more than 30,000 bookings were canceled or delayed because of
travelers' concerns about the jet that went missing on March 8. Of
those, 8,913 bookings were from China. Chinese citizens made up
two-thirds of the 239 passengers and crew on the ill-fated Boeing
777.
A string of abductions in the eastern state of Sabah, with the
most recent occurring on Monday when two fish-farm workers were
seized by armed men, has added to the tourism industry's woes. The
latest kidnappings were the third incidents in less than three
months in which authorities have blamed groups based in the
southern Philippines, a short boat ride away from Sabah's
coast.
"Based on information from the industry, the total tourist
arrivals could decline starting from April up to 2015 because of
this incident," Mr. Nazri told Malaysia's parliament this week,
referring to the missing jet and kidnappings. Fewer tourists
arrived from China in April, down 0.1% from the same month a year
earlier at 168,001 travelers.
Tourism is one of the largest foreign-exchange earners in
Malaysia and an important sector that the government has been keen
to promote to spur economic development. Tourism generated as much
as 65.44 billion ringgit ($20.01 billion) in 2013, with tourist
arrivals growing 2.7% to 25.7 million visitors from 2012, data from
the tourism ministry showed.
The bulk of Malaysia's tourists come from China and neighbors
Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Thailand. By 2020, the government
hopes to welcome 36 million tourists and draw in as much as 168
billion ringgit in revenue.
To beef up security, Malaysia plans to establish ocean bases and
enforce special designated routes for ships entering Sabah waters,
Shahidan Kassim, a minister in the prime minister's department,
said on Monday. These steps are in addition to increased troops and
ships patrolling a special security zone set up in 2012.
The government is confident that measures implemented to date
and those to be taken "will increase the security level in the
eastern coast of Sabah," Mr. Shahidan added.
In recent years, Abu Sayyaf, a group of Philippine Islamist
militant backed by al Qaeda, has been involved in a string of
foreign tourist abductions.
Sabah, known for its remote islands and pristine waters is a
sought-after diving and snorkeling destination that has been hit
hard by the persistent external threats. From the time of the
disappearance of Flight 370 until the end of April, national flag
carrier Malaysia Airlines has cut 10 flights from Shanghai to
Sabah, while China Southern Airlines has canceled 22 flights from
Shenzhen and Chinese budget carrier Spring Airlines has axed 44
flights from Shanghai.
Write to Jason Ng at jason.ng@wsj.com
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