Robust Performance By Tourism Sector Tourist arrivals to Malaysia continue to be robust. Looking at the most recent data available from the Immigration Department, the country welcomed 15.38mn tourists over the January-August 2009 period, an increase of 4.4% year-on-year (y-o-y). August itself was a particularly strong month, with tourist arrivals up by 10.4% y-o-y, at 2.03mn.

The robust performance is in stark contrast to dire prognoses of falls of 9% mentioned by the government at the turn of the year and shows that Malaysia has done well to withstand the lack of consumer demand for global tourism in a difficult year. However, given the still depressed nature of global tourism demand, BMI prefers to remain cautious on the final result for 2009, predicting a 1% fall for overall arrivals.

BMI remains bullish on the long-term prognosis for Malaysian tourism, which continues to benefit from strong government support and a relatively secure and stable political situation. The country offers a range of options (from meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibition – MICE – travel to beach holidays) and the state is committed to supporting an industry that is a key generator of foreign exchange.

Focus On Health Tourism In June 2009, state news agency Bernama reported that the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB, Tourism Malaysia) is embarking on a three-year project to collect market data on health tourism, as the country seeks to increase the number of people visiting the country for medical treatment. The same month, a report by Travel & Tourism News Middle East underlined the increasing importance the state is giving to health tourism. The Minister of Health, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, said that health tourism generated about US$85mn in revenue in 2008 and treated 370,000 foreign patients. The government is expected to draw up a legal framework to regulate the health tourism industry soon.

New CEO For Malaysia Airlines In August Idris Jala stepped down as CEO of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to take up a job in government as minister without portfolio. His replacement is the company’s chief financial officer Azmil Zahruddin bin Raja Abdul Aziz. Jala was much respected during his time as CEO and his departure will be felt by the airline. In particular, Jala did much to turn around the fortunes of the airline in recent years via severe cost cutting and aggressive sales promotions. In July, Aviation Week identified Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa as the three airlines best positioned to weather the global economic situation.

Despite the challenging operating environment, MAS posted a net profit of MYR876mn in Q209, which is its highest ever quarterly figure. For H109, net profit stood at MYR181mn. The airline attributes its strong performance to aggressive sales campaigns aimed at increasing load factors.