DUBAI, UAE: Tourist arrival from the Middle East, especially the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to Malaysia are expected to reach a record high this year, Malaysian Ambassador to the UAE Datuk Abdul Mubin Razali said.

He said last year, a total of 245,302 tourists from the Middle East visited Malaysia.

Some 47,300 arrivals had already been recorded from the region during the first three months of this year, he said.

"We've targetted 320,000 arrivals from the Middle East this year, but I'm confident the number will be higher with the various promotions by the Tourism Malaysia.

"Malaysia's participation at the annual Arabian Travel Market (ATM) also created a huge impact at wooing more people from the Middle East to make Malaysia their holiday destination," he told reporters at the Malaysian Embassy here today.