A rise in tourist arrival figures for the first half of this year could signal a turnaround in Malaysia's tourism industry.
Despite booking cancellations - mainly from Asian countries over the Japanese encephalitis viral outbreak in March to April - Malaysia recorded 3.1 million arrivals for the first half of the year compared with 2.5 million over the same period last year.
All markets except Taiwan, Hong Kong and Brunei registered increases between 19 to 67 per cent. The country expects six million arrivals by the end of this year.
The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism has also scaled down its original 12.5 million arrivals to 6.5 million for next year.
While the weaker Malaysian ringgit has made the country a cheaper destination after the mid-1997 Asian currency turmoil, Malaysia suffered negative publicity from the haze, Coxsackie viral outbreak and anti-government demonstrations up to last year.
As it takes longer to woo back the longhaul markets, the fastest and easiest markets to tap are its neighbours, Singapore and Thailand.
In June, the Culture, Arts and Tourism Ministry began talks with Singapore on joint initiatives to attract overseas markets, and boost traffic between both countries.
Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Datuk Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir says besides Singapore's 3.8 million population, the island republic has 600,000 expatriates and six million international visitors, providing a huge catchment area for Malaysia just across the Causeway.
The countries have since re-established the Malaysia-Singapore Tourism council at the national tourist office (NTO) level.
Both countries' national travel agents associations have streamlined into four committees on product development, marketing, accessibility and transport, and information technology.
Malaysia has formed a similar alliance with Thailand. The Malaysia-Thailand joint tourism committee aims to boost cross-border tourism between the Malaysian northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak, and the southern provinces of Thailand.
Of the Asian markets, China has the biggest potential.
To help Chinese visitors who decide to visit Malaysia last-minute while holidaying in Singapore and Thailand, instant 14-day visas are now issued at specific entry points.
Malaysia is also wooing the Middle East markets aggressively. It forecasts a 10-fold increase from 23,000 to 200,000 arrivals from the Gulf region next year.