Tourism

In 2013 tourism was the sixth-largest contributor to Malaysia’s economy, making up $16.1bn of gross national income, from seventh place in 2012. The government and the private sector have taken many concrete steps in recent years to ensure the arrival of more and more visitors, be it for business or leisure. In the year marked by two Malaysian Airlines tragedies, the industry is making a strong effort to regain the confidence of travellers, both foreign and local. ASEAN was Malaysia’s largest source of visitors in 2013, with 19m arrivals, or 74% of the total, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Top source countries were Singapore, Indonesia and China. An open-skies policy for ASEAN members, set to take effect in 2015, is likely to boost competition between carriers and lead to improvement in services. As South-east Asia in general becomes an increasingly popular destination, Malaysia’s tourism sector looks likely to loom increasingly large on global travel maps in the years to come. This chapter contains an interview with Ahmad Razlan, CEO, Sepang International Circuit (SIC).