Malaysian Prime Minister Najib has announced that Malaysia will launch a new visa waiver program for Chinese tour groups from October 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016.

The move is aimed at boosting Malaysia's tourism industry and prop up its national carrier Malaysian Airlines that has suffered heavy losses in recent months.

Najib says that Malaysia will also introduce a new digital visa for tourists from countries that are the major sources of inbound tourism. He also announced that Malaysia will invest 80 million Ringgit (around 120 million yuan) to promote tourism in booming markets like ASEAN, China and India and 1.1 billion Ringgit (around 1.6 billion yuan) to renovate some landmark buildings and enhance infrastructure.

Major tour agencies in Beijing say that Malaysia's visa waiver program will boost Malaysia-bound tourism and the price for a tour to Malaysia will fall by around 10 percent.

Xu Xiaolei, Chief Branding Officer of aoyou.com under China Youth Travel Service (CYTS) says, similar visa policies adopted by Thailand and South Korea have turned these destinations into some of the favorite hotspots for Chinese travelers and now Malaysia is on its way to becoming a top destination as well.