KUALA LUMPUR: The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry is seeking to increase flight routes and frequencies between Malaysia and China, says its minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
He said he would meet with domestic airlines after the Chinese New Year.
"We hope that flight frequencies will return to pre-pandemic times and therefore boost the economy of both nations, especially in travel for business and tourism," he said.
Tiong also thanked the leadership of China and its people for their support of Malaysia, with the reopening of China's borders.
He said this would inject vitality into the economic development of various fields between both countries.
The minister said this after launching the Petaling Street's Chinese New Year lighting-up ceremony here.
Tiong also requested that Malaysians not to overreact to tourists arriving from China following the spike in Covid-19 cases in that country.
He said some parties had requested to bar Chinese tourists from entering Malaysia.
“However, based on China's data, 10.9 million of Covid-19 cases have been reported, and if we look at the United States, 99 million cases have been reported.
"The US' death toll is already 1.08 million cases while China's is only 36,000 cases.”
Tiong also said that the government would monitor tourists who visit Malaysia.
"So far, there are no Covid-19 cases reported from tourists who visited Malaysia, including those from China," he added.
