TTGasia.com, Jun 6 – 12, 2008

Inbound agents fear Malaysia will lose its appeal to Saudi Arabian travellers this summer as the destination becomes more expensive compared with Thailand and Indonesia, both of which are also aggressively wooing the market. Agents say the Saudi riyal, pegged to a weakened US dollar against a stronger ringgit, makes Malaysia a more expensive destination. Malaysia hotels also impose a surcharge during the period, unlike their counterparts in Thailand and Indonesia.
Their concern stems from the fact 60 per cent of West Asian tourists to Malaysia are from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian tourists also formed the highest per capita expenditure among all inbound tourists at RM7,968.60 (US$2,455) last year.

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