SEPANG: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad unveiled the Visit Malaysia 2020 logo here and set a target of 30 million international tourist arrivals next year.

He said the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign is an opportunity to attract record numbers of visitors and make the country a destination of choice for leisure and business tourists.

With a target of 30 million international tourist arrivals, Dr Mahathir said increasing flight connectivity from other destinations to Malaysia is one of the initiatives to be undertaken to boost tourist arrivals.

"If we have better air accessibility connecting other cities with Malaysia, we will be able to receive many more tourists.

"Hence, we need to connect and reach out to 'high yield' markets which are Malaysia's target market for this campaign, namely Asean, China, India, United Kingdom and Germany," he said in his speech during the launching of the Visit Malaysia 2020 logo at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday (July 22).

The logo, which is a winning entry by graphic designer Alfred Phua Hong Fook, features recognisable Malaysian icons including the hornbill and bunga raya in the colours of the Jalur Gemilang.

The focus of the campaign is on eco-tourism, arts and culture.

According to Dr Mahathir, the tourism sector needs to move in tandem with digital transformation, with an emphasis on digital marketing using various social media platforms if the industry is to remain competitive.

In 2018, Malaysia welcomed a total of 25.8 million international tourists, while for the first five months of this year, international tourist arrivals reached more than 10 million.

This is the fifth edition of the Visit Malaysia Year programme with the last programme in 2014.