He was referring to the Electronic Travel Registration & Information, or eNTRI, and e-visa facilities introduced in March last year for tourists from China.
He said the number of tourist arrivals between March and December last year touched 2.2 million, up from 1.2 million for the corresponding period in 2015.
Zahid, who is on a visit to China, said throughout 2015, Chinese tourist arrivals numbered 1.7 million in total with spending registered at around RM5.7 billion, averaging RM3,500 per tourist.
These tourists included Chinese nationals who resided outside China, he added.
“Concerted efforts will continue to draw tourists during the three major holiday seasons, namely Chinese New Year, summer vacation and year-end holidays,” Zahid said at a press conference here today.
He said there was plenty of room for the tourism and culture ministry to work on bringing more Chinese tourists to Malaysia.
Zahid said immigration department statistics showed that many Chinese tourists to Malaysia were in the family travel group and the number of tourists who overstayed their visas was minimal.
He also said the tourism and culture ministry would have to step up the promotion of charter flights because many major cities in China did not enjoy direct flights to Malaysia.
Zahid said he conveyed his appreciation to China’s Minister of Public Security Gua Shengkun at their meeting on Tuesday regarding China’s quick response to every application made by Malaysia.
Asked about the impact of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia, he said the situation had returned to normal after about four months.
Chinese made up the majority of passengers on board MH370, which disappeared while on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
Zahid said as the chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Tourism, he would seek an increase in the advertising and promotion allocation by the tourism and culture ministry.
The details would be announced later, he added.