Malaysia said Saturday it was confident the number of tourists visiting it this year would climb back to the 2002 level of 13.3 million after dropping last year because of SARS and the Iraq war.
"In the first three months of this year, Malaysia recorded over 3.9 million tourist arrivals, a growth of 38.4 percent compared to the same period in 2003," Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board director general Abdullah Jonid said.
"If this trend continues, we are on our way to achieve the 2002 figures," he was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.
Last year arrivals dipped to 10.5 million from 13.3 million in 2002 due to jitters over the Iraqi war and the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in the region, he said.
However, since January there has been a steady influx of visitors which could put the tourism sector - the country's second largest foreign exchange earner - back on track, he said.
Tourism grossed nearly 23 billion ringgit (6.05 billion dollars) last year. Abdullah said the number of tourists from Britain was notably on the rise after a slow down last year. "Arrivals from the UK recorded a 46.5 percent growth this year vis-a-vis the same period last year."
"It rose from 34,763 in 2003 to 50,943 so far this year. The UK will continue to be an important source market," he said.
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