He said Beijing’s decision to scrap quarantine for travellers and reopen borders is expected to bring in three million tourists to Malaysia which will help boost the economy.

“China is very important because they have a big volume and they are ‘big spenders’, and this will contribute good numbers for Malaysia’s economy,” he told reporters with regards to the tourism industry’s preparation for tourists from China and after launching Fish Tales 2023 Cup – The Global Chinese Pro Challenge, here today.

Uzaidi said the association is fully committed to adhere to the health ministry’s Covid-19 preventive measures to avoid another outbreak in the country.

“In our industry, we will comply even though we are very excited about bringing in tourists because safety comes first.

“Tourism industry players were badly affected (by Covid-19) and we have learnt from that and now our mantra is ‘good health means good business’, so it is important for the industry to comply with the SOPs (standard operating procedures),” he said.

Elaborating further, he said it is also best if tourists entered Malaysia under certified travel agents as this will help the government to monitor their movement and thus reduce the risk of another Covid-19 outbreak.

On the Fish Tales 2023 Cup, Uzaidi said the event will be held from Aug 18 to 22, next year and co-organised by Mita as one of its efforts to attract affluent Chinese nationals to Malaysia.

Uzaidi said after a two-year break due to the pandemic, some 500 participants from China are expected to take part in the fishing competition next year while contributing to community-based tourism in Rompin, Pahang.

“The market for angling tourism is big in China. Statistically, there is an estimated 120 million fishing enthusiasts in China and 2% of this group (2.4 million) will travel at least once a year outside of China to conduct their angling activities,” he said.

Uzaidi said each angler will spend an average of US$2,500 to US$3,000 (RM11,052 to RM13,269) per fishing trip in Malaysia.