The Tourism Ministry has decided to make applications for visa easier for tourists to encourage more arrivals.
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said tourists who wished to come to Malaysia could go to locally appointed representatives to apply for their visas instead of the consulates.
According to the Minister, the visa facilitation system (VFS) will become the “better alternative” for tourists from China and India where Malaysian consulates were located only in certain areas.
“People living in cities without Malaysian consulates will be able get their visas without the hassle,” she said before launching the 1Malaysia Contemporary Arts Tourism Festival here yesterday.
“Applicants will need to pay a small fee to the appointed tour agents for their visas but they still can apply directly to a Malaysian consulate,” she added.
Dr Ng said the VFS has been available in India for two months with an international tourism company.
The ministry will broach the idea to have the VFS pilot project launched in China to its Tourism Minister Shao Qiwei when he visits the country today.
Dr Ng said the Government’s decision to cancel the issuance of visa on arrival (VOA) to foreign tourists at the country’s entry points on Aug 15 would not affect the tourism industry as out of the 24 million tourists entering the country last year, only 9,000 had to apply for the VOAs.
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