Tourist receipts were 60.6 billion ringgit compared to58.3 billion ringgit (19.5 billion) in the previous year, TourismMinister Ng Yen Yen said.
Ng said in the regional market,tourists from the Philippines, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia,Myanmar, Brunei and Cambodia rose between 1.4 per cent and 40.5percent.
However, arrivals from Thailand and Singapore dropped slightly.
Visitorsfrom Iraq, Nepal, Bangladesh, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Oman,Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, Russia,the United States, Denmark, Spain, France, Switzerland,Germany, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Canada and Italy alsoincreased.
This year, the country's target is tobring in 26 million tourists, the Minister said, adding that this is apreparation year for Visit Malaysia Year 2014.-VNA