Counting Singaporeans in tourism data valid
First Published: 6:57pm, Jan 24, 2013
Last Updated: 6:57pm, Jan 24, 2013
VIENTIANE (Jan 24): The inclusion of Singaporeans in Malaysia's tourist arrival data is in line with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) guidelines on tourists.
According to the UNWTO, it is stipulated that any foreigner who enters a country through proper entry points is counted as tourist.
This puts to rest an ongoing debate within the tourism industry circles and among a small number of Malaysians, on whether Singaporeans, including those who merely spent several visiting hours in Malaysia, should come under the tourist category.
The industry has generally felt that Singaporeans should not be included in the tourist arrivals data as Singapore did not include Malaysians visiting the republic in their tourist arrivals data.
Tourism Malaysia Director-General Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab has defended the country's stand to include Singaporeans in their tourist arrivals data.
He said, what Tourism Malaysia did, did not go against the UNWTO guidelines on tourists, which stipulated that any foreigner entering a country via proper entry points was a tourist.
Mirza noted that even Thailand counted Malaysians visiting the country as tourists. So did, European countries which counted foreigners from their neighbouring countries as tourists when they visited the countries.
Malaysia recorded 24.7 million tourist arrivals in 2011, with Singaporeans making up the biggest portion of 9.7 million tourists.
"The data is genuine. We did not fabricate or doctor the data as it all conforms with the UNWTO guidelines.
"Malaysia is among the top countries in the region which receives a high number of tourist arrivals," said Mirza, adding that Malaysia was well connected by land with neighbours such as Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia.
http://fz.com/content/counting-singaporeans-tourism-data-valid
MALAYSIA BOLEH
So entering Malaysia to fill up petrol also count as a tourist arrival.
Please Note: Singapore does not include Malaysians arriving through our land checkpoints as tourists!
First Published: 6:57pm, Jan 24, 2013
Last Updated: 6:57pm, Jan 24, 2013
VIENTIANE (Jan 24): The inclusion of Singaporeans in Malaysia's tourist arrival data is in line with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) guidelines on tourists.
According to the UNWTO, it is stipulated that any foreigner who enters a country through proper entry points is counted as tourist.
This puts to rest an ongoing debate within the tourism industry circles and among a small number of Malaysians, on whether Singaporeans, including those who merely spent several visiting hours in Malaysia, should come under the tourist category.
The industry has generally felt that Singaporeans should not be included in the tourist arrivals data as Singapore did not include Malaysians visiting the republic in their tourist arrivals data.
Tourism Malaysia Director-General Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab has defended the country's stand to include Singaporeans in their tourist arrivals data.
He said, what Tourism Malaysia did, did not go against the UNWTO guidelines on tourists, which stipulated that any foreigner entering a country via proper entry points was a tourist.
Mirza noted that even Thailand counted Malaysians visiting the country as tourists. So did, European countries which counted foreigners from their neighbouring countries as tourists when they visited the countries.
Malaysia recorded 24.7 million tourist arrivals in 2011, with Singaporeans making up the biggest portion of 9.7 million tourists.
"The data is genuine. We did not fabricate or doctor the data as it all conforms with the UNWTO guidelines.
"Malaysia is among the top countries in the region which receives a high number of tourist arrivals," said Mirza, adding that Malaysia was well connected by land with neighbours such as Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia.
http://fz.com/content/counting-singaporeans-tourism-data-valid
MALAYSIA BOLEH
So entering Malaysia to fill up petrol also count as a tourist arrival.
Please Note: Singapore does not include Malaysians arriving through our land checkpoints as tourists!
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