[KUALA LUMPUR] The Year of the Dragon started with a bang for Malaysia’s tourism industry, thanks to the Malaysia-China visa-free policy which drew thousands of tourists to the South-east Asian nation during Chinese New Year (CNY).

Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association president Paul Paw said that more than 10,000 tourists from China visited the country during the festive period, generating an estimated tourism spend of at least RM1 billion (S$284 million).

“The growth momentum is expected to continue. We are seeing increasing interest from tourists in the second-tier cities in China, such as Xiamen and Wuxi,” he told The Business Times.