Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the country will grant visa-free entry to Indian and Chinese citizens for stays up to 30 days, from December 1, reports Reuters.
The PM made the announcement late on Sunday while delivering a speech at the People Justice Party congress. However, he did not reveal how long the said visa exemption would be alive.
Malaysia, China and India are the fourth and fifth largest source markets. The country recorded 9.16 million tourist arrivals between January and June this year of which 498,540 were from China and 283,885 from India. In 2019, before the pandemic, the collective arrivals from India and China was 1.5 million.
Malaysia made such a move after neighbouring Thailand, in an attempt to boost its tourism sector and give an upward push to the country’s sluggish economy.
At present, Chinese and Indian nationals must apply for visas to enter the country.