Singaporeans topped the list of 26 million tourist arrivals to Malaysia, according to the Immigration Department’s latest statistics recorded from Jan 1 to Nov 15, 2023.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said he hoped tourist arrivals will continue to increase following the implementation of the 30-day visa exemption for travellers from China and India from Dec 1.

"So, we hope for the best and that we can increase the number of tourists, especially after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced visa exemptions for China and India for 30 days beginning Dec 1," he told the media after the Malaysia Batik Day Celebration walkabout session at the Kuala Lumpur Craft Complex here Saturday (Dec 3).

According to statistics released, the most number of tourists were from Singapore at 12,645,364 tourists, followed by Indonesia (3,166,295), Thailand (2,073,162), China (1,407,471), Brunei (904,841), and India (780,532) while the rest are from other countries.

Meanwhile, Kraftangan Malaysia director-general Ainu Sham Ramli hopes the Rahmah Batik Sales, launched in conjunction with Malaysian Batik Day Celebration Saturday, can provide the public with an opportunity to buy batik at a price of less than RM100.

"We will hold special offers, in collaboration with batik entrepreneurs so that customers can buy more affordable batik items," she said.

She added that this year's celebtration is being held for five days from Nov 30 until Sunday (Dec 4), with a targetted sales of RM1mil.