Russia announced that beginning 1 October, tourists from 53 countries will be able to visit Russia’s cultural capital, St Petersburg, and its surrounding regions on an electronic visa which is provided free.
Last year, Thailand, to boost its tourism revenue, waived off the 2000 Thai Baht fee between November and January 2019. The program proved to be such a success, the Thai Government extended the period when you could get a free Visa on Arrival between January 14 to April 30, 2019, and they extended it again to October 31, 2019.
The world has seen the success of this program in Thailand and now even Russia is adopting it. Malaysia must look into waiving the visa fee to draw in more tourists. We should at least look at implementing it for the “winter” months, and to immediately promote it heavily to potential visitors who are seeking to escape the cold.
Tourism receipt for the first half year 2019 was RM41.687 billion. Even a 5% increment is RM2 billion and this huge amount will definitely go a long way in helping our economy and the trickle down effect will surely reach our B40 community.
Let us be proactive and seize the opportunity now.