With border curbs lifted, Malaysia welcomes tourists with open arms

The reopening of Malaysia’s borders in April provides an opportunity for West Asian travellers to visit and explore the Southeast Asian country – renowned as a favourite family and Muslim-friendly destination, a senior official of Tourism Malaysia has said.“One of the main advantages of Malaysia is that it offers a lot of Muslim-friendly facilities,” International Promotion Division (Asia/Africa) senior director Manoharan Periasamy said. “People from the region feel more at ease when they travel to Malaysia, because halal food and mosques are there.”

Manoharan Periasamy speaking to journalists at a recent roadshow in Doha. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam

“We want to capitalise on that, where people don’t have to feel alienated,” he said. “Halal food is all over Malaysia, you can walk around with the hijab or head covering.”He spoke to reporters at Tourism Malaysia’s roadshows in Iran, Oman and Qatar, held between May 13-21, designed to attract more visitors from West Asia.The roadshows brought together Malaysia's tourism fraternity comprised of travel agents, hoteliers, product owners, state tourism bodies and medical tourism industry players, visiting Tehran, Muscat and Doha.“We do have several activities to suit the Middle East market,” Periasamy said, citing an array of tourism offerings for the family, including adventure seekers.He said Malaysia has a lot of new attractions such as the Genting Highlands, which underwent a significant transformation, in addition to the famous Sunway Lagoon Theme Park, the Sunway Resort in Kuala Lumpur, and the worldtarget="_blank"'>