In the budget speech by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday, the ministry was allocated RM970 million. Of this amount, RM250 million was earmarked to promote tourism.

Tiong said he will be meeting with tourism ministry officials on how to move forward with regard to the request for more funds under Budget 2023, The Star reported.

“The tourism sector plays a major role in the economic growth of the country and we must ensure that we have enough funds to support its continuous revival after the pandemic.

“Once we have established clear goals, I will then discuss with Anwar for more funds to meet our goals under Visit Malaysia Year in 2025,” he was quoted as saying.

Yesterday, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Tan Kok Liang said the allocation provided was insufficient given rising cost and the weak ringgit.

Christina Toh, president of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) said had the budget been more favourable to the tourism industry, it would have had a greater positive trickle-down effect to peripheral industries.

In his budget speech on Friday, Anwar, who is also finance minister, announced that 2025 would be “Visit Malaysia Year” with a target of 23.5 million international tourist arrivals and a projected income of RM76.8 billion.