TOURISM MINISTRY AIMS TO ATTRACT 100,000 FRENCH TOURISTS

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 (Bernama) -- The Tourism Ministry aimed to attract
100,000 tourists from France this year, said its minister Dr Ng Yen Yen.

Towards this end, she said the ministry encouraged Malaysians who were
proficient in French to become tour guides.

"The French prefer tour guides who are able to speak French. Presently, we
have made our policies more flexible and are able to engage French residents in
Malaysia for this (act as tour guides).

"One positive outcome of this is that they can help train Malaysians to
become French speaking tour guides.

"The ministry is willing to help in their training and those interested are
encouraged to register with us," she told reporters after holding a dialoge
session with tourism industry players here Thursday.

She added that France was a big market for tourism and that last year some
90,000 French tourists visited Malaysia whereas Thailand was able to attract
over 400,000 visitors from that country.

-- BERNAMA