Asean Plus 3 to boost Malaysian tourism sector

MALAYSIA is banking on the tourism sector this year as its number one money earner in terms of economic returns through the Asean Plus Three (Asean+3) pact with China, Korea and Japan.

East Asia Business Council (EABC) chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim said efforts are underway to integrate single-owned hotels with other hotels overseas to create a platform for all the hotels to leverage on one another.

"We are very committed to promoting East Asia as we believe with Asean+3, we can achieve practical things much faster. We look forward to China, Japan and Korea helping us."

Azman was speaking at a press conference after launching the Ministry of International Trade and Industry symposium on expanding trade and investment linkages in East Asia themed "Business without Borders" in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The symposium was officiated by tMITI deputy minister Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan. Chairman of the EABC tourism sub-committee, Datuk Syed Amin Al- Jeffri was also present.Syed Amin said tourism remained one of the biggest money generators for Southeast Asian countries, with the industry worth nearly US$30-US$40 billion annually.

Source = btimes.com.my