KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Tourism offices abroad will be closed down if they don't bring in enough tourists to the country.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the operations of these offices would be monitored every month for the first quarter next year.

"It is expensive to maintain these offices and the directors of these offices should take note that their operations will be shut down if they cannot meet their targets," she said after being briefed by the Tourism Ministry's overseas directors yesterday.

She said that the ministry was also revising the tourist arrivals downwards for next year in view of the global economic situation.

"This is also the period where the ministry will start being conservative in its approach.

"We had forecast 22.9 million arrivals next year but our officers are not that comfortable with the number," she said.

The ministry's acting director-general Amirrudin Abu said the revision would most likely be downward but noted that the numbers did not show a decrease as of October this year.

"This year will still post a growth of 4.8% but we know the situation will be very dynamic and fluid for the rest of the year and for the first quarter of next year."

Azalina said the Middle East continued to be a good market to woo tourists to Malaysia and that a new approach would be holding roadshows to multiple cities within one country rather than roadshows in one city per country.