The 'Jelly Sea' lives up to its name, with clear underwater coral and colorful small fish! "Liu Ying, a tourist from Beijing, told Xinhua News Agency on a cruise ship off the coast of Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, Malaysia. Sea turtles swim freely beside the ship, allowing her to personally experience the beauty of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. This summer, many Chinese tourists choose to come to Malaysia for sightseeing. Liu Ying said that this trip is not only charming in scenery, but also particularly convenient due to the visa free policy. "From booking a flight ticket to setting foot in Sabah, it was seamless and seamless. Before, we had to wait for a visa, now we can depart freely. Chinese tourists on the same boat also expressed that the visa free policy not only saves time and costs, but also makes more tourists willing to take their children and families on an easy island trip close to nature. In April of this year, China and Malaysia officially signed a mutual visa exemption agreement, which came into effect on July 17th. Previously, the two countries provided visa free entry convenience to each other in December 2023, and announced the mutual extension of visa free policies in June 2024, which was welcomed by tourism practitioners and the public of both countries. The mutual visa exemption agreement has come into effect, and the policy dividend has been continued. The policy effect quickly became apparent. Malaysia's Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Zhang Qingxin, recently introduced that in the first five months of this year, Malaysia received about 16.94 million international tourists, a year-on-year increase of 20.4%. Among them, the number of Chinese tourists reached 1.81 million, a year-on-year increase of 38.8%, with a growth rate higher than other major tourist sources. As the relationship between Malaysia and China continues to deepen and people to people exchanges become increasingly frequent, local merchants are actively preparing information on Chinese products and services, and increasing their promotion efforts on social media platforms, striving to welcome and serve the growing group of Chinese tourists with better experiences. ”Liao Zhiguo, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of the Shabama China Friendship Association, told reporters. The reporter still remembers that in order to make the policy dividends land as soon as possible, Li Taikang, Deputy Director of the Malaysian National Tourism Board, immediately walked into live streaming rooms on platforms such as Ctrip, Meituan, and Fliggy after the latest policy came into effect, promoting Malaysia's unique culture, cuisine, and tourism resources to Chinese audiences, and interacting with them in real time to answer questions. He also set up a "welfare" section to further narrow the distance between the hearts of the two countries. Policy first, helping people to connect with each other. ”Li Taikang said that Malaysia plans to attract 47 million international tourists and generate 329 billion ringgit (approximately 4.2 ringgit per US dollar) in international tourism revenue by 2026. Industry insiders believe that the sustained growth in the number of Chinese tourists will help Malaysia achieve its goals and play a key role in further strengthening Malaysia China economic and trade relations. Mutual visa exemption not only promotes the tourism boom, but also facilitates business exchanges, academic exchanges, and cultural mutual learning between the two countries. More and more entrepreneurs, researchers, and students are taking advantage of visa free travel and direct flights between the two countries to carry out project cooperation, attend academic conferences, and conduct joint scientific research, extending bilateral cooperation from tourism to more fields. As the sun sets, a golden afterglow falls on the sea surface, and the warm orange in the sky gradually blends into rose pink and deep purple. Malaysian tour guide Ana stood at the pier, bidding farewell to every disembarking tourist along with the "third most beautiful sunset in the world". She smiled and said that more and more Chinese tourists are coming to Sabah, which not only makes the local tourism market more active, but also allows her to meet more friends from different places, which makes her full of longing for China. Taking advantage of the visa free policy and convenient flights, I also want to go to China to see! ”Ana said. (New Society)