The Visit Malaysia Year 2007 program drew 20.7 million tourists to Malaysia, exceeding the target set by the government by 600,000, said Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.
The figure was up to Friday and could reach 21 million by Dec. 31, he said after visiting the "Karnival Gegar" (Rumble Carnival) site in Putrajaya, the administrative center of Malaysia on Friday.
"The tourists brought in 45.7 billion ringgit (13.4 billion U.S.dollars) in foreign exchange earnings for Malaysia, compared with
the target set at 44.5 billion ringgit (13.1 billion U.S. dollars)," the national news agency Bernama quoted him as saying.
The promotional campaigns, tourist programs, tourism packages and activities, flight arrangements and the uniqueness of the country being multicultural were among the factors that contributed to the success of Visit Malaysia Year 2007, he said.
The government targets to attract 21.5 million tourists to the country in 2008 and 24 million by 2010. Last year, 17.4 million tourists visited Malaysia.
The recent floods which hit several states and the street demonstrations had affected tourist arrivals to a little extent, Tengku Adnan said.
The government had extended the Visit Malaysia Year program to Aug. 31, 2008, he said.
The "Karnival Gegar" which promotes tourism products, culture and extreme sports, will be held for three days from Saturday.
Source:Xinhua
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